The Perfect One
by choejhulkp9
Summary: SHIELD. The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division protects the world from a much weirder one. But they soon meet someone with a unique ability set that makes him a force of nature. One of Earth's mightiest heroes will turn into its last hope from total annihilation. You don't mess with Inhuman perfection.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, this is a story I thought about doing initially as a Naruto/Agents of Shield/Marvel crossover, but my Naruto/Marvel Cinematic Universe story will take care of that, so I decided to try an OC story instead, with some elements inspired from Chronicle that I wouldn't make a full story of but can use elements in this. This story takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will also include elements from those movies and my OC will be involved with the Avengers but mostly with the Agents of Shield. Enjoy!**

 **The Perfect One: From humble beginnings comes great destiny**

 **Atlantic City, New Jersey: 2010**

Atlantic City, New Jersey was known for a few things in history: beaches, boardwalks, casinos and for being the city that inspired the board game Monopoly. But soon it would be known as the city where one of the world's mightiest heroes would be born. The city was a popular destination for people looking for a vacation or a good time and mostly home to tourists while the people who worked and lived in the city got use to the casinos and packed beaches of tourists.

One such person was a young 21-year-old man who was just trying to live his life. His name was William Detmer. William never knew his birth parents since he was dropped off at an orphanage when he was just a baby. He was then adopted by the Detmer couple, a happy married couple who couldn't conceive so they adopted him when he was a baby. William's adopted father was Harold Detmer, a former Airforce captain/member of the Air Force Combat Control Teams before he retired and became a police captain while his mother Mary Mace Detmer was a doctor. William had a nice childhood, his adopted parents were amazing and William was happy. He went to school, played soccer, track, and field up through high school, got good grades and lived his life. **(1)**

William earned a full ride at NYU to study psychology and mechanical engineering. William liked to tinker with things as much as he liked to try and understand the complexity of the human mind or as his dad put it, _mess with people_. He loved shows like _Law & Order, Criminal Minds_, and the _Mentalist_ so possibly pursuing a career in that field seemed like a great idea to him. It was the middle of his spring term of his junior year and he had a long weekend, so William went home. It was Friday night and William was at a party with some of his friends from High School near Great Island, close to the water. William had a few beers in him and was walking by the water to clear his head while his friends were enjoying themselves.

He finished his beer and kicked a stone into the water as he looked up at the clear night sky with stars flickering above. **[Sighs]** "Damn I missed this." William said to himself, enjoying the peace and quiet.

He put his beer down and sat on the ground as he looked at the stars and noticed one of them glow brighter and brighter and seemed to be getting closer. It was getting really closer when William knew it wasn't a star and quickly ran back as the meteor flew from the sky and crashed into the sand bars near the water. William dove to the ground and covered his head, thinking it would be a huge explosion but it was fairly mild. The sound could have been mistake for a large firework or a car backfiring if you didn't see the meteor.

William stood up and dusted his jeans as he looked over to where the meteor fell and saw it had a faint blue glow to it. "Holy shit." William said to himself as he walked over and saw the meteor was about the size of a car tire. It was a chunk of glowing blue rocks that looked like diamonds or crystals. Will got closer and saw that the entire meteor was made of the crystal structure that glowed a bright blue/white. It pulsated every few seconds and when it did it glowed brighter, then dimmed and repeated. He could feel heat radiating from the meteor yet it felt comforting.

William took out his phone and began recording video of the meteor. "Holy shit. This is insane." William said as he walked into the crater and got closer. "No one is going to believe this."

William walked closer to the meteor as his curiosity got the better of him than his sense of danger. He looked and saw the veins of the meteor were glowing blue like the rest of the meteor. William slowly reached his hand out and touched the rock and it felt cool, like the first cold wind of fall. When William touched the meteor, he accidently pricked his finger on a sharp edge and a drop of blood hit the rock.

"Shit." Will said as he pulled his hand when he saw the meteor began pulsating more frequently like your heart would if you were running or scared. William stepped back as it began pulsated more and more and then began to glow bright blue/white and shined on Will with an intensity that made him shield his eyes. Will then felt rush of cold air whoosh past him like someone hit him with an air gun.

"Argh…" William grunted in pain as he grabbed his head with his left hand, experiencing one hell of a migraine but managing to stay on his feet. William noticed the meteor was started to dim but the veins of the meteor began to pulsate like a liquid was running through them.

Will looked at his arms and saw they were glowing bright blue/white, just like the meteor as the glowing seemed to melt into his veins and blood as he saw channels of the blue light course throughout his arms. If someone was watching Will, they'd have seen the blue light course throughout his entire body like someone put dozens of blue tracers in his blood and muscle pathways. The glowing energy then began to dim as the meteor shot out a blue beam of energy that hit Will. It looked like the veins in the meteor were being drained into Will as they pulsated less and less. When the veins were empty, the beam of energy stopped, and Will felt blood dripping from his nose but that was the least of his worries as his migraine turned into feeling like his brain was going through a blender.

"ARGH!" William shouted as the pain was unbearable and it was now accompanied by an extremely loud ringing. His head felt like it was going to explode. He then hit the ground and passed out from the pain. In his unconscious state, he missed the meteor pulsate one more time before it disintegrated into dust. The powder collected on the ground and was blown away by the wind and water. **(2)**

Line Break xxxxx

William squinted his eyes in pain as he opened them and immediately shut them because there was a bright light in his face. He slowly opened them and used his arm to try and block some of the light so his eyes could adjust. He saw a whole bunch of other lights shining down at him.

"Whoa, hang on. He's waking up." William heard as he looked to see it was his friends looking down at him and the bright lights were the flashlights on their phones. "Hey, Will. You ok? We saw this bright light and came over and found you on the ground."

"Yeah…give me a moment." William said as he felt like he was getting over the biggest hangover of his life. "I must have…passed out. Did you guys see it?"

"See what?" One of them asked.

"There was a meteor." William said as he looked saw the glowing meteor was gone.

"Will, there was nothing here. Come on. Let's get you home." One of them said as they helped Will up and the soberest person drove him home. And when he got home he immediately crashed in his bed and didn't wake up until 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

William woke up in his bed groggy and confused as to what happened last night. He looked at his alarm clock and saw it was 2 in the afternoon. "What the hell happened last night?" Will asked himself as he managed to stand up. He still had a slight headache from last night but he didn't know if it was from the alcohol he drank or the lingering brain ache.

He walked over to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face to try and wake him up. He wiped his face with a towel and looked in the mirror, not noticing anything different so he ruled out a weird mutation from the meteor. He pulled his eyelid down and saw his eyes were ok, a little tired but nothing that wasn't abnormal. He scratched his hair and walked to the kitchen where he saw his mom and dad talking.

"Will, are you all right? You're usually up earlier than this." Mary said as she walked over and hugged him.

"Yeah…I'm fine." Will said as he sat down at the kitchen table and rubbed his forehead.

"You sure, Will?" Mary asked as she got him a cup of coffee.

"Too much fun, last night?" Harold asked as he looked over the paper.

"No…nothing like that." Will replied as he took a sip.

"What's wrong?" Harold asked.

"Dad, was there any report of a shooting star or…meteor crashes last night?" Will asked.

"No, not that I've heard." Harold replied as he and Mary was confused.

"Well, last night I walked near the water to get some air and peace when I noticed a shooting star getting closer and closer and saw it was actually a meteor." Will told them.

"A meteor?" Mary asked as Will nodded.

"Yeah, a blue glowing meteor the size of a car tire. Wait, I got a video last night." Will said as he pulled out his phone and showed them the video. They watched and to Will's credit, it was an actual blue glowing meteor. The video showed the meteor glowing and then of William touching it.

"You touched it?" Mary asked as Will shrugged his shoulders.

"I got…curious. But nothing happened until it got a serious headache and then I passed out. My friends woke me up and when I came to the meteor was gone." Will said as Mary walked away to get some medical tools to give Will a quick check over.

"What were you thinking? You could have been infected with some kind of bug or that thing could have been putting out a whole bunch of radiation and could be killing you." Mary said as she scolded him and checked him over.

"Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Besides, I'm fine. I'm not coughing up blood or growing a third eye. Just a bit of a headache." Will told them as Mary finished looking him over and he seemed fine.

"Well, you seem fine but I think we should get you to the hospital and get you checked out." Mary said as Will nodded.

"Fine, but first we need to see if the meteor is still there. If that thing is actually dangerous than we need to find it." Harold said as he got up and grabbed his gun and keys. "Let's go."

The Detmer's drove out to the place where Will and his friends had the party and when they got there they saw the signs and garbage that a party had taken place. "It's over by the water." Will said as they walked over to where Will saw the meteor and saw the impact crater. "It happened right here. Where did it go?"

"The impact crater proves you're right but it's gone. Could it have gotten washed out by the water?" Mary asked.

"No, the tide doesn't come this close in. Unless it grew legs and walked away, maybe someone came and took it. I'll make some calls and drag the water just in case and have everyone on the lookout for anything unusual." Harold said as he began making calls.

"In the meantime, let's get you to the hospital." Mary said as they drove Will to the hospital to get him checked out.

A minute after they left, dozens of black-tinted vans arrived and began forming a perimeter. Men in black suits, tactical gear and hazmat suits got out and began setting up equipment. In one of the lead vans, one of the men in black suits stepped out and looked around. He was wearing black shades and had a sense of authority and duty about him. He took out a phone and made a call.

"Coulson reporting in. Alpha team on site and beginning investigation as to the possibility of an 084." Agent Coulson said as he finished his call.

Will and his family were at the hospital as Mary used her pull to get a private room to do her own examination on her son. Will was stripped down and in a hospital gown while his dad was making calls. Will had just been through several blood and urine tests, an x-ray scanning, an EKG, and a brain scan and frankly he hoped that was it.

He sat on the hospital bed, his eyes shut and concentrating as his headache was finally gone. "Will?" Will opened his eyes and saw his dad. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Headaches finally gone and I feel fine." Will said.

"Good, but we'll see what your mother has to say." Harold told him as Mary walked in with Will's charts.

"And she doesn't have much to say. According to every single medical test we ran, you're completely fine. No irregularities in body function although your blood did show a slight uptick in your Electrolytes." Mary said as Will shrugged.

"It's all that Gatorade." Harold told him as Will chuckled. "Anything else?"

"No. Everything seems fine. Your brain scan showed nothing abnormal and your body is fine." Mary told him.

"I guess that meteor was just a regular glowing rock." Will said as he stood up, grabbed his clothes, and went behind a curtain to change.

"There's still a possibility that the meteor exposed you to radiation or something that we don't even know about so I want you to take it easy for a bit." Mary told him as Will popped his head out from behind the curtain.

"Mom, I feel fine. And if something does happen, we'll take care of it." Will said as he stepped out, dressed in blue jeans, black sneakers, a black t-shirt, and a dark blue sweat shirt. "For now, I'd like to get out of here. Hospitals still give me the creeps."

"Fine. Let me put my things away and we'll get dinner." Mary said as they left.

They grabbed pizza and drove home, enjoying a nice dinner. After, Mary had paperwork to finish and Will was helping his dad finish fixing his black and red 1970 Harley Davidson Titan V-rod Motorcycle in the garage. **(3)** The motorcycle was his dad's pride and joy and was the culmination of 10 years of work and scrounging for parts. The engine block of the bike was completely custom and designed to run better than before but the hard part was that he was using all pre-1980 parts so no electronic chips or anything.

"Will, hand me a socket wrench." Harold said as Will handed him one. "And can you get me another screw from the box?"

"Got it." Will said as he walked over to the box of parts and grabbed the tools. He walked over to his dad when he got hit with a major headache.

"ARGH!" Will shouted as he dropped to his knees and grabbed his head as his brain felt like it was going through a cheese grater.

"Will!" Harold shouted as he ran over to his son and tried to help him. "Will, what's wrong? What's happening?"

"ARGHH! To…much…noise…." Will shouted as he looked at his dad and Harold couldn't believe his eyes. Will's normal brown eyes were glowing blue and so were his hands. "ARGH!"

Everything in the garage began to shake as things were sent flying across the room. Mary ran in and saw what was happening. "WILL!" Mary shouted as she joined her husband to try and help her son.

"I…can't focus…to much noise!" Will shouted as more things were sent flying and the motorcycle and his dad's police car began floating off the ground.

"Will, you need to relax and calm your mind. Just listen to my voice." Mary told him as Will tried to calm down but his headache was going crazy.

"I…need to…. release…ARGH!" Will shouted everything in the garage was blown out into the street like a huge gust of wind knocked them away but surprisingly Will, Harold and Mary stayed on the ground.

Will's hands and eyes stopped glowing and the things in the garage stopped moving. Will tried to catch his breath as he felt his headache was completely gone and he felt fine. "What's happening to me?" Will asked as Harold and Mary were a mixture of confused and scared as to what just happened.

"How did you do this?" Harold asked.

"I…I don't know. I don't think I even meant to do this." Will said.

"Are you ok? Any more pain?" Mary asked, extremely concerned as to what is happening to her son.

"No. In fact…I've never felt better. It's like the headaches and cloud on my head are gone." Will told them. "But how did I do this?"

"It must have been the meteor you found. It did this to you." Harold told him.

"But I did tests at the hospital and nothing was different." Mary said as they thought for a moment.

"Maybe because Will wasn't going through the headache. Before it happened, Will got the headache and his eyes turned blue." Harold said.

"My eyes turned blue?" Will asked as his dad nodded.

"Yeah, and so did your hands. And then everything started moving. When we were at the hospital you were fine so maybe nothing showed up on the tests." Harold said.

"But am I going to be having another headache episode?" Will asked as they thought.

"You said you needed to release. Release what?" Mary asked.

"Release pressure. My headache felt like my brain was going through a cheese grater but I also felt a lot of pressure." Will said.

"Maybe…that shockwave was you releasing pressure." Mary said as Will looked around and saw everything that happened.

"Jeez. I hope this doesn't happen again." Will said.

"Well…whatever happens we'll protect you, Will. Above all else, we'll keep you safe." Harold told him as he hugged his son.

"And how do we do that? You saw what I did. I'm a freak!" Will told them.

"You're not a freak. You're just…unique. It's like those comic book superheroes you read when you were a kid. Or like Tony Stark. You know, Iron Man." Mary told him.

"Tony Stark is a billionaire with a metal battle suit. I just made a mess." Will told them.

"Maybe we just need to help you control this." Harold told him.

"And that can happen tomorrow. Will, why don't you get some rest. It's been a long day." Mary told him.

"But what about the mess?" Will asked.

"I'll take care of it. Go, listen to your mother." Harold told him as Will got up and went to his room.

"Do you think we can help him? I mean making things move is way beyond helping him with his school work or dealing with girls." Mary asked.

"I don't know, Mary. But I do know one thing. If we tell people what happened to Will, he'll be whisked away to be a science puppet for whoever wants to find out what happened to him. And I'm not going to let our son become a lab rat." Harold told her as Mary nodded.

"I know and neither do I but Will has changed. How do we know he can control this?" Mary asked him.

"You saw what happened to the garage. He sent everything flying yet we're fine. I think he did that. He didn't want to hurt us. He can control it. Our son is strong." Harold said with confidence in his son.

"I know he is. So, what's the plan?" Mary asked.

"I train him like I trained in the Marines. If he can control this then we have nothing to worry about." Harold said as Mary nodded.

"And if someone does come looking for him? We protect our son however we can." Mary said as Harold nodded as he began cleaning the garage.

Line Break xxxxx

Will woke up the next morning and to his relief, nothing in his room or the house was destroyed or sent flying so he didn't have an episode when he was sleeping. He brushed his teeth and went to the bathroom before going down stairs for breakfast and saw his mom making pancakes, bacon, and sausage.

"Morning, Will." Mary said.

"Morning, mom." Will replied. "Mom…are you ok? After last night, I mean."

"I'm fine. I'm just worried about you." Mary said as Will smiled.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry I brought this to our door step. I shouldn't have touched that stupid meteor." Will said as he sat down.

"We can't change that now. But don't worry. Your father and I still love you and no matter what happens, we'll get through it together." Mary said as she placed down the food.

"Whoa, what's with the huge breakfast?' Will asked.

"Well, your father told you he'd help you control your new…powers. And knowing him, he's probably gonna put you through the ringer so you'll need your strength." Mary said as Will drank some coffee and ate a pancake.

After eating a nice breakfast and waiting about 30 minutes so he didn't puke right after, Will walked out to his backyard where his dad was waiting with a bunch of small items. "Morning, dad." Will said.

"Morning. So, I figured if we're gonna get control of your new…powers, then we'll need to understand them. But after seeing what happened last night, maybe we'll start small." Harold said as he tossed Will a baseball.

"Ok, good plan. So, what should I do?" Will asked.

"I want you to try and send the baseball flying like you did last night. But concentrate. First thing I learned in the marines is that a soldier's mind is their greatest weapon." Harold said as Will nodded as he exhaled. "Just clear your mind and concentrate."

"Ok, concentrate how? What should I do?" Will asked.

"Just concentrate on moving the baseball." Harold told him as Will closed his eyes and cleared his mind. He did his best and when he opened his eyes, he saw his hands were glowing blue and if he had a mirror he would see his eyes glowing blue as well. Will looked at the baseball in his hands and it slowly began to levitate but as it was rising in the air it was shaking, like Will's control wasn't perfect.

The baseball floated until it was eye level with Will and stayed there. Will then concentrated on making the ball spin and seconds later the ball began to slowly spin around.

"I'm doing it." Will said, excited that it was working.

"Nice. Now slowly move it over to me." Harold told him as Will concentrated and the ball slowly moved through the air like it was being carried by someone. When it near his dad, Will concentrated on the ball and it dropped out of the air and into his dad's hand. And when it did and Will relaxed, his eyes and hands stopped glowing. "Nicely done. So, what did that feel like?"

"It felt somewhat natural. I just focused my mind on what to do and it happened." Will said as Harold nodded and put the baseball down. He then picked up a plastic cup.

"Now, I want you to lift this up and bring it to you." Harold told him as Will nodded.

Will shook his hands and concentrated like before and his eyes and hands glowed blue. The cup then floated out of his dad's hands and moved over to Will. Will then tossed the cup in the air and before it hit the ground, his powers caught it midair. He then used his powers and put the cup down on the ground.

"You seem to be getting the handle on this." Harold told him as he tossed him a golf ball and Will caught it in his right hand.

"Yeah, this small stuff anyway." Will said as the golf ball floated out of his hands.

"Well, before nothing like this happened until the garage when your headaches came. Perhaps releasing all that pressure makes it easier." Harold said as Mary came out with some water bottles.

"How's it going?" Mary asked as Will moved the golf ball back to his dad.

"He's getting the hang of it." Harold said as Will focused on the water bottles in his mother's hands and brought them over to him.

"I see. So, he can move things with his mind?" Mary asked as Harold nodded.

"Seems to be. He focuses on the object and it moves. Will, heads up!" Harold shouted as he threw the baseball at Will's head. Will ducked as a reflex but the ball stopped in front of Will's body. "And his powers also act on reflex."

"What was that?!" Will asked.

"Another test. It seems your powers react not only to what you're thinking but as a reflex as well." Harold said as Will lowered the ball into his hand.

"So, Telekinesis." Will said as the ball shot 15 feet in the air floated there. "That's what I can do."

"Telekinesis?" Mary asked.

"Yup. The ability to move or interact with objects with the power of a person's mind. And seeing as how I'm not physically moving them, then that meteor must have done this to me." Will said he saw one of the lawn chairs and tried to move it. He held his hand out towards the chair and focused but the chair wasn't moving. He focused harder as the lawn chair began to tremble and float an inch above the ground when Will noticed blood coming from his nose and stopped.

"Will." Mary said as she and Harold walked over to check on him.

"You ok?" Harold asked as Mary got a napkin and wiped the blood from his nose.

"Yeah, just a slight sting in my head. I tried moving the chair but it wasn't as easy as everything else. So, I focused a lot harder and it began to move when my nose started to bleed." Will said as he wiped his nose.

"Does it hurt?" Harold asked as Will didn't feel a headache or anything, more like a slight pinch in his head.

"Kind of like a small pinch. Like when I pulled that muscle during spring training in Highschool." Will said as Harold thought for a moment.

"You said Telekinesis is the ability to move things with your mind, right?" Harold asked as Will nodded. "So, your mind needs to be trained with your new power. Your brain is like a muscle and if you overexert a muscle too much it breaks. The nosebleeds are telling you your limit."

"Is that true?" Mary asked.

"We're in uncharted territories here. But it makes the most sense. Will could move the smaller stuff no problem but the larger things that required him to concentrated more led to the nose bleed. We'll be careful." Harold said as took a little break so Will could recover from the nose bleed. They continued with the training using a bunch of other small or medium size items like the baseballs to books and Will's backpack. With the small and medium size stuff, there wasn't any strain on Will's brain when he used his powers and he was getting the hang of his new powers.

He could move and push the items around with ease like he was holding them and he could move multiple items at once. Will trained with his powers until dinner and he had to pack because he was going back to school. He promised to stay in contact with his parents if anything bad happened and Will promised to be careful at school. He said he would practice in his dorm room to make sure he didn't have an accident but he wouldn't use his powers in front of someone.

While he was at school, he fell into his regular routine of going to classes and hanging out with his friends but he felt a lot more pressure because he had to make sure he didn't accidently use his powers to hurt someone. When he finished his work, and was alone in his dorm room, he trained with his powers by moving things around his room. Things like his alarm clock, his chair, notebooks, and textbooks. After 2 weeks of training, he was able to lift his bed off the floor with ease.

He kept up his regular schedule as he finished his junior year and didn't have any accidents or episodes with his powers. He finished his semester on the right track for his double major in mechanical engineering and psychology and got an internship at PSEG for the summer. His powers had grown and he could move, push, pull and levitate objects with ease. When Will returned home with two weeks before his internship started, he showed his parents how his control with his powers got and he was able to lift his dad's police car a an inch off the ground.

Will was eating some cereal in the kitchen watching the news coverage of the Senate Armed Services Committee and their mission to get Tony Stark to hand over the Iron Man Suit. "Will." Will heard as he saw his dad walked in with some paperwork.

"Hey, dad. I thought you had work?" Will asked as Harold put his paperwork on the table and got some coffee.

"Nothing I couldn't take and work from home. So, what's going on?" Harold asked.

"Oh, that Armed Services committee thing about the Iron Man armor." Will said as Harold chuckled.

"Oh, yeah like that's a good idea." Harold said.

"You don't think having the Iron Man armor in the army is a good idea?" Will asked.

"A good idea, sure. Heck, that armor would turn the tide in any fight and save a lot of lives. But like the nuclear bomb, when that thing gets in the wrong hands then a lot of people will get hurt. And we'll have a new war that threatens the planet." Harold said as he got some half-and-half for his coffee.

"So, you'd rather had the Iron Man in Stark's hands?" Will asked as Harold scoffed.

"Stark makes really good tech and weapons but I'm not sure if having anything like that in the world is good. It's like you, Will. Now other people having your powers would be dangerous but I raised you and I know you're a good kid who makes the right decisions. It's a complicated situation." Harold said as Will nodded.

"Well, it seems Stark is milking the Iron Man for his own benefit. His company's stock is at its highest and with the Stark Expo out he's probably got a good thing going on." Will said as Harold sat down next to him.

"You know, if you want to go, I've still got a friend at Hammer who can pull some strings and get us a pass for the day." Harold said as Will shrugged.

"Yeah, that's sounds cool." Will said as Harold nodded and they watched the news and saw Tony walking out of the meeting with his ego on full display while Senator Stern cursed him out.

Will enjoyed the time off until his internship started and he kept himself busying by readying himself for the job and training his powers in his free time. He learned how to stop objects from moving, changing the directional course of objects and that he could crush objects with his mind which was pretty cool. Will was in the living room, practicing with his powers by levitating a bunch of coins and building a small tower with them to refine his control and precision. He was also watching TV so it practiced his mind's ability to multi-task as he wanted to watch the Monaco's grand prix, which his dad got on pay per view.

"You've got to be kidding me." Will said as he watched Tony Stark replace his own driver for the race. "Guy's got a pair on him but a race car is a piece of cake compared to a battle suit."

Will began moving the coins to make a copy of the Eiffel tower as he watched the race when he saw a race track worker step out onto the race track. The camera zoomed in as the man opened his jumpsuit to reveal a glowing chest piece and a mechanical harness. Long wipes of lightning appeared in his hands as the top part of his jumpsuit burned off, revealing an intricate mechanical harness.

"Whoa." Will said as he focused on the TV and the coins he was controlling dropped to the ground.

He saw the whip guy slice an incoming race car in half, sending it flying into the sides of the track. "Holy shit!" Will said as his eyes were glued to the screen. The racetrack officials and police tried to get everyone clear as people exited the stands while the cameras were focused on the man.

Stark's car came racing by as the man sliced the front and sent Stark flying through the air and crashing into the side. The man walked slowly towards Stark as other cars on the race track tried to stop and ended up crashing into each other. The man then sliced the car in half but Stark appeared behind him and hit him with the car door but the man knocked him back. He swiped at Stark a few times as Stark managed to get away but was knocked to the side.

Stark then jumped on the fence as a Rolls Royce bashed the man into the fence. It looked like it was over but the man recovered and began slicing the car when Stark got what looked like a red and white briefcase. He touched it with his foot and it began unfolding. He grabbed the handles of the briefcase and pulled them apart as the briefcase unfolded into armor and Tony Stark now stood in a new version of the Iron Man armor. With one kick, he sent the Rolls Royce skidding out of the way as he faced his assailant.

Iron Man raised his palm to fire a repulsor blast but Whiplash slashed him with his whip. Iron Man tried to fire again but Whiplash hit him again and damaged his left gauntlet. Iron Man fired two repulsor blasts but Whiplash deflected them. Whiplash threw out his whip and it wrapped around Iron Man's neck and then wrapped his other whip around his right gauntlet. He threw Iron Man across the pavement and smashed him to the ground, then against the car and again on the pavement as the electricity from the whip began to destroy the armor.

Iron Man then walked forward and began wrapping the whip around him, getting closer and closer. And when he got close enough, he punched Whiplash in the face, the stomach and then threw him over his shoulder. He finished it by ripping out the glowing chest piece as the electricity from the whips shut off and the police came and took him into custody.

"Hey, Will. How's the race?" He heard his mom ask as she came home.

"Uh…put on hold for the time being. But I think I saw Iron Man fight a super villain." Will said.

Line Break xxxxx

Will had his internship starting on Monday leaving him the weekend to enjoy before he went to work. And lucky for him, his dad got passes to attend the STARK Expo on Saturday with access to the panels on that day. Will and his parents were at the Hammer Industries panel in the back of the stadium as other military officials, members of the press and visitors got into their seats. Music began to play as Hammer stepped on stage and began dancing as everyone clapped.

' _Geez, does everyone in the weapons business have a huge ego.'_ Will thought as he clapped along and Hammer made his way to his podium.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about. Thanks for coming." Hammer said as he straightened up and got serious.

"Ladies and Gentlemen…for too long, this country has had to put its brave men and women in harm's way. But then the Iron Man arrived and we thought the days of losing lives were behind us. Sadly, that technology was kept out of reach. That's not fair, that's not right and that's just too bad. Regardless, that was one impressive innovation, one that grabbed headlines the world over. But today, my friends, the press is faced with quite a different problem. They are about to run out of ink." Hammer said with a smile as there was a small applause throughout the crowd.

"Ugh, what a dumbass." Will said to himself as Harold chuckled while two stage hands removed the podium so Hammer could move around freely.

"Ladies and Gentlemen…today I present to you, the new face of the United States Military: The Hammer Drone!" Hammer shouted as a marching theme began to play and images of various members of the US's armed forces began to play while parts of the stage began to move to reveal platforms and drones hidden under the stage.

"Army!" Hammer shouted as 8 steel colored Iron-man-like drones appeared with a glowing chest piece and a heavy duty .50 caliber machine gun on their back.

"Navy!" Hammer shouted as 8 blue colored drones appeared with double stacked rocket pods on their shoulders.

"Airforce!" Hammer shouted 8 grey colored drones appeared, more slick and aero-dynamic than the previous two groups.

"Marines!" Hammer shouted as 8 camouflage print drones with heavy machine guns on their arms appeared.

"Yeah! Whoo! That's a hell of a lot better than some cheerleaders, let me tell you. But as revolutionary as this technology is, there will always be a need for man to present in the theater of war. Ladies and Gentlemen, today I am proud to present to you the very first prototype of the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit, and its pilot, air force Lt. Colonel James Rhodes!" Hammer shouted as another rising platform appeared in the center of the stage.

"Rhodey?" Harold asked as Will looked at his dad.

"You know him?" Will asked as Harold nodded.

"Yeah, we went through training together in the Airforce. I saved the son of a bitch a few times in Afghanistan. He owes me a six pack of beer." Harold said as Will chuckled. "He told me he's been a liaison with Stark."

"Guess he's a liaison for Hammer now." Mary said as they watched a black colored Iron-man suit with red eyes and a glowing chest piece. While Iron Man was bright red and gold and was flashy, this one was made for someone in the military as it had two wrist mounted machine guns, a M134 7.62 mini gun on its right shoulder, heavy armor around the body, and storage for ammo.

"Ok, that's officially cooler than Iron Man." Will said as he clapped along with the crowd.

Rhodes then saluted as the other drones did the same as did Hammer. "For America and its allies, Hammer Industries is reporting for…" Hammer was cut off as everyone heard the rumbling of a jet engine getting close. They all turned around and saw something flying fast and closing in and knew what it was. It stopped near the stage and landed in a crouch to reveal Tony Stark in a new Iron Man suit with a triangle chest piece.

The crowd went ballistic as they cheered and applauded as Iron Man walked over to Rhodes. "How about that Will? Iron Man shows up. Isn't this great or what?" Mary asked as she clapped along.

"Yeah, great." Will said as he clapped along. He saw Iron Man walk over to Hammer and they seemed to be talking when Will got this tingling in the back of his head. Will immediately began to feel on edge and worried as he felt that something was wrong. "Something's wrong."

"Will?" Harold asked as they saw the minigun on Rhodes's suit activate and lock onto Iron Man. Then all the other drones raised their guns at Iron Man as Hammer ran and Will grabbed his parents.

"Move!" Will shouted as they ran out of their seats as Iron Man flew away while the drones fired at him, destroying the glass ceiling above them and causing everyone else to run.

Will and his parents made it to the exit when he turned back and saw the War Machine suit and air force drones take off into the air while the army and navy drones began walking off the stage and following the crowd of people. Will and his parents ran from the panel hall and through the Expo to get to their car as the drones marched throughout the expo. People ran in fear for safety as the military drones stalked the crowd like evil robots from a sci-fi movie.

The navy drones fired their rocket pods and the rockets exploded throughout the expo. One got dangerously close to Will and his family but Will quickly got in front of his parents and moved the rocket off course and it hit the side of a building instead. More rockets were fired as they hit the side of buildings, sending concrete and debris on top of people. Harold and Mary helped some people get back on their feet while Will saw another missile heading straight for a group so he stopped it in mid-air and crushed it, turning it into a ball.

"Will, you need to help these people." Harold told him as they saw everyone run away.

"Help them how?" Will asked.

"Use your powers, help Iron Man stop those things. The police can't stop them." Mary said as Will was nervous.

"But, I've never used my powers like this. This is a huge step from lifting my bed." Will said as Harold grabbed Will and so he looked at him.

"You can do it. I saw you do it with the missile and you have control of this. Remember, it's your power, you control it." Harold said as he looked at the fleeing crowd. "These people need you now more than ever. Maybe whatever happened to you was an accident or maybe it was divine intervention, fate, destiny or whatever but I know that it couldn't have happened to a better person. You can do this, Will."

"I'm not leaving you and mom alone." Will said.

"Your father and I will be fine. We'll be helping people get to safety. Your father's right, they need you. Go!" Mary told him as Will had mixed feelings but saw how frightened and scared everyone was and saw the people who were injured or already killed by the drones.

"Ok, but you two stay safe." Will said as he hugged his parents and they hugged him back. He then ran towards the drones which were moving towards the west side of the park.

"Be careful." Mary said as she watched Will run.

"He'll be fine." Harold said as he helped another person get up. "Come on! Get to safety!"

Will ran towards the drones when he ran passed a destroyed gift shop. He looked around and noticed a destroyed security camera and knew that if he used his powers to stop the drones, those cameras still active were gonna record him in action so he grabbed a sweatshirt with a hoodie and put it on. He then ripped a t-shirt in half and wrapped it around his nose and mouth to make a face mask. With his impromptu disguise ready, he saw a navy drone about to corner a group of people so he ran at it.

The drone raised its arms and prepared to fire when it was pulled backward and sent tumbling against the ground. The people looked and saw a masked and hooded man with glowing hands run up next to them.

"Go!" Will said. The people ran way as the Navy drone got back up and set its targeting reticle on Will. Will got the tingling sensation in the back of his head again so he turned and saw the navy drone aim its arm machine gun and fire a torrent of bullets.

"RAH!" Will shouted as he held his hands out and the bullets stopped mid-air about 2 feet in front of him like someone hit pause. "Take this you terminator rip off!"

Will then thrust his hands forward and the bullets flew back at the Navy Drone and peppered it with holes. The drone wobbled for a bit before it fell over, oil dripping from the bullet holes and sparks flying from the destroyed circuits. Will walked over and saw the glowing power core had shut down so it was dead.

Will looked to his right and saw missiles heading towards a group of people so he ran forward and to his surprise, he was actually moving faster than he normally was. He would have been enjoying that new-found power but he had to stop those missiles. Will got in front of the crowd and raised his hands, as the missiles flew towards him and smashed into a telekinetic shield, saving them. Will grunted, trying to stay focused as he felt the burden his shield was taking from the impacts.

The crowd ran as Will covered their escape and kept them from harm. He then reached out his hands and part of the ground cracked open. Will grunted and concentrated as chunks of concrete ripped out of the ground and floated in the air next to him. Will then threw his arms forward and the concrete flew through the air and smashed into a hammer Navy drone, smashing it to pieces. Will ran over and saw that one arm was severed and the chest was heavily damaged, but it was still functional as it tried to stand up, so Will kept it from moving.

The sound of bending metal could be heard as the drone attempted to move but found itself incapable. Will then shouted as he made a ripping motion with his two hands and the drone was torn in half. Will turned as he saw more Navy drones heading towards him, but they stopped. They dropped their arms and turned around as Will was confused. He watched the drones fly away using their rocket thrusters and were going to the west side of the park. Will looked and saw all the other active drones were doing the same thing and going in the same direction.

"Now where are they going?" Will asked himself, curious as to what the hell was going on so he followed them. Will ran through the park, going in the same direction as the drones were flying but he was on the ground. He was running for about 5 minutes through the park which was pretty much empty as everyone had made it to an exit by now. Will ran past some destroyed rubble and stopped to take a breather.

"Dammit. Where the hell did they go?" Will asked when he heard the sound of gun fire coming from the encased ecological bio-dome. He ran through the park and over to the bio-dome when he heard the sound of a jet and looked up to see another drone fly into the bio-dome. Will's curiosity got the better of him and wanted to see what was happening so he entered through the front entrance. He stayed hidden in the trees and saw the wreckage of a battle between the Hammer drones and only Iron Man and the military upgraded black Iron Man suit were standing.

He now saw a new Hammer drone but this one was larger and seemed more armored and advance. Will looked and saw Whiplash, the man who attacked Iron Man at the Monaco race track in the suit.

"Good to be back." Whiplash said.

" **Oh, this ain't gonna be good."** War Machine said to Iron Man as Whiplash unleashed his two plasma whips which were twice as strong as the ones he used before. **"I've got something special for this guy. I'm gonna bust his bunker with the ex-wife."**

" **With the what?"** Iron Man asked as War Machine's shoulder came apart to reveal and small rocket launcher. It was primed before flying out of the launcher and hitting Whiplash but did nothing. It bounced against his armor and landed on the ground and fizzled out, completely useless. " **Hammer tech?"**

" **Yeah."** War Machine replied as Whiplash smiled.

" **I've got this."** Iron Man said as his shoulder mounter rockets fired but Whiplash's armor closed up and protected him.

Whiplash flipped his whips and swiped down as War Machine and Iron Man dove to the side. War Machine fired his three machine guns which just bounced off of Whiplash's armor as Whiplash swung up and destroyed War Machine's minigun. He then swung at Iron Man who flew in the air and spun, firing his repulsor blasts but he missed. Whiplash snagged Iron Man around the waist and threw him against a rock. Before he could attack him, War Machine fired his two remaining guns to get his attention as Iron Man flew forward in a charge but Whiplash knocked him away and sent him tumbling through the trees.

Whiplash then lashed out and grabbed War Machine. His whips reeled War Machine in so Whiplash punched him and sent him flying back. Iron Man yelled as he jumped back into the fight and began swinging at Whiplash's head. It seemed to be working but Whiplash headbutted Iron Man back and lashed his whip around his neck. War Machine fired his gun but Whiplash just stepped on him, the metal making cracks in the armor. Whiplash retracted the helmet and smiled, thinking he had the upper hand.

Iron Man grabbed the whip and tried to pull when all of a sudden, Whiplash was thrown backwards as his whip disconnected from Iron Man. Iron Man and War Machine were confused as one second Whiplash had them on the edge and then he was thrown backwards like he was hit by a truck.

Iron Man looked and to his shock, there was a guy with a hoodie and face mask standing there with them in the dome. But the most shocking thing was that his hands were glowing blue. Whiplash got up and looked to see who attacked him, thinking it was another Iron Man armor but it was just a man.

" **Kid, get out of here!"** Iron Man shouted as he saw Whiplash spin a whip and threw it at the kid. **"NO!"**

"RAH!" Will shouted as he held his hands out and stopped the whip from hitting him to Iron Man, War Machine, and Whiplash's surprise. Whiplash threw out his other whip and it hit the ground near Will and the debris hit him in the face. Will backed up, rubbing his eyes to get the dirt and grass out. The tingling sensation came back as Will rolled away just in time to avoid being cut in half.

Iron Man fired his two repulsors and hit Whiplash in the back, knocking him forward as War Machine kept firing his guns. Will got up and wiped the dirt away to see Whiplash hit Iron Man away with a whip and kick War Machine into a tree. Will held his hands out and ripped out two chunks of the ground. He threw his hands forward and hit Whiplash, knocking him back and saving War Machine from getting hit. Whiplash stood up and threw out both his whips as Will threw his hands out and the whips stopped. Whiplash tried to move his body but the computer system said there was an error as the armor wasn't moving and responding to his movements.

Will grunted as he kept Whiplash from moving but could feel his pull getting weaker. Will concentrated harder than he had before as his nose began bleeding. Will shouted as he threw his arms out and Whiplash's armor was ripped down the middle with half of it being throw to the side while the other half stayed on the man. Will dropped to his knees to catch his breath and recover from the stinging headache as Iron Man and War Machine were amazed at what they saw. This kid just managed to tear off Whiplash's armor with some kind of invisible force.

"You lose…" Whiplash managed to say as his chest piece began blinking red and beeping rapidly.

" **All these drones are rigged to blow! We've got to get out of here, man!"** War Machine shouted.

" **Pepper!"** Iron Man said as he flew away while War Machine grabbed Will and flew into the air.

"AHH! Let me go! Let me go!" Will shouted as he struggled to get out of War Machine's grip as he saw his feet leave the ground and dangle at least 400 feet in the air.

" **Kid, stop moving! I'm saving your life!"** War Machine shouted.

"No, please! I hate flying! Rhodey let me go!" Will shouted.

" **How do you know my name?!"** War Machine asked as Will managed to get loose and fell out of War Machine's arms and began plummeting to the ground. **"Oh, shit!"**

"AAAAHHHH!" Will shouted as he began falling to the ground while War Machine flew down to try and catch him. Will flailed around as he fell through the air and saw the ground getting closer and closer. He held his hands out as he subconsciously began to tap into his powers and his descent began to slow down. Will threw his hands out and when he was about 15 feet from the ground, he sent out a huge telekinetic push to the ground, creating a small crater about 10 feet wide. The push acted as a parachute as Will's fall was slowed tremendously and he even seemed to be floating before he dropped 8 feet and hit the pavement.

"Uh…that's gonna hurt in the morning." Will groaned as he managed to pull his face out of the dirt. He spit the dirt out of his mouth as he looked up and saw one of the wrecked drones in front of him and by the sound of the beeping from the core, it was going to blow. "Oh, shit!"

Will ran away as fast as his legs could take him when the drone exploded as Will dove to the ground and covered his head. Will heard other explosions in the distance, meaning the other drones must have exploded as well. Will looked up and saw the burning remains of the drone with the potent smell of oil filling his nose. Will gagged a bit before running to find his parents. He ran through the park, tossing his face mask and hoodie into the fire as he ran to the nearest exit or police escort where he blended in with the horde of people trying to leave. He managed to find his parents and Will left the Expo thinking that no one was the wiser as to who he was and what he did…only if that were the truth.

Tony had just saved Pepper and she was spiller her heart out as to Tony's erratic behavior and essentially quit as CEO. But the two had a moment and one thing led to another and the two locked lips.

"Weird?" Tony asked about the kiss.

"No, it's not weird." Pepper replied.

"It's not weird, right? Ok. Run that by me again." Tony said as they kissed.

"I think it was weird." They heard as they stopped kissing and saw Rhodey in his suit, sitting on an air vent like he had been there for a while. "You guys, look like two seals fighting over a grape."

"I had just quit so we were not—" "You don't have to do that. I heard everything." Rhodey stopped them.

"You should get lost." Tony said.

"I was here first. Get a roof." Rhodey replied as Tony chuckled.

"You kicked ass back there by the way." Tony said as Rhodey nodded.

"Thank you, so did you." Rhodey replied.

"So, where's that kid you grabbed?" Tony asked.

"Kid?" Pepper questioned.

"A long story." Tony told her.

"I…sort of dropped him." Rhodey said as they looked at him. "He's still alive. He somehow stopped himself before he hit the ground. I lost him once all the drones exploded. Speaking of which, my car got taken out in the explosion, so I'm going to have to hang onto your suit for a minute, ok?"

"Not ok with that." Tony replied as Rhodey stood up.

"Wasn't a question." Rhodey told him as the face mask came down and Rhodey flew away.

Line Break xxxxx

The next day, Tony was escorted to a SHIELD secured warehouse for a debrief with Director Fury. Several agents were outside the warehouse for security and even more around the block to keep any potential enemies or attacks against the director from happening. Inside the warehouse, more agents were there for security while there were various monitors and computers that showed news coverage of the fallout from the STARK Expo, something from an attack at a college that involved the military and something in New Mexico.

Tony was sitting at a table, waiting for Fury to arrive so he decided to look at one of the files in front of him that read _Avengers Initiative: Preliminary Report._ Tony looked at the file when Fury pushed it down.

"I don't think I want you looking at that. I'm not sure it pertains to you anymore." Fury said as he sat down across from Tony. "Now, this on the other hand is Agent Romanoff's assessment of you."

Tony took the file and read it. "Uh…personality overview, Mr. Stark portrays compulsive behavior." Tony said as he looked at Fury. "In my own defense that was last week."

"Uh…prone to self-destructive tendencies. I was dying, I mean please. And aren't we all?" Tony shrugged.

"Textbook narcissism." Tony said as he looked at Fury. "Agreed. Ok, here it is. Recruitment assessment for Avenger initiative, Iron Man yes. I'll have to think about it."

"Read on." Fury told him.

"Tony Stark not…not recommended. That doesn't make any sense. How can you approve me but not approve me? I've got a new ticker, I'm trying to do right by Pepper, I'm in a stablish-ish relationship." Tony said.

"Which leads us to believe that at this juncture, we'd only like to use you as a consultant." Fury said as Tony looked at him. "Provided you give us everything you can on the individual who helped you stop Vanko."

"Individual?" Tony asked as Fury looked at one of the screens that showed the camera footage from one of the hammer drones that Vanko took over and it showed a masked figure with glowing hands and eyes rip apart the other drones and tear up chunks of the ground without touching them. "Oh, him. Guy was brave, I'll give him that."

"He's someone we have no information about. And that never happens. We need to know what you know." Fury said as Tony thought about it for a second and then stood up and shook Fury's hand.

"I got nothing. And you can't afford me." Tony said as he walked away but then stopped and turned around. "But I'm willing to waver my customary retainer in exchange for…a small favor. Rhodey and I are being honored in Washington tomorrow and we need a presenter." Tony said.

"I'll see what I can do." Fury said with a nod.

"Good luck on the manhunt though." Tony said as he left and walked to his car. He pulled out a small earbud and put it in his ear as he got in the driver's seat and turned the car on. "Jarvis."

" _Yes, sir?"_ Jarvis replied.

"Bring up all the security footage recovered from the black box at the expo. Let's find our mysterious savior before SHIELD tags and probes him." Tony said as he drove away.

" _Right away, sir."_ Jarvis said as Tony drove to catch his plane to DC.

Will was starting his internship at PSEG and he was happy to put the business at the STARK Expo behind him. Not that there wasn't a little adrenaline rush with fighting large robots and single handedly saving Iron Man and the other Iron Guy from Whiplash, but it was nice to go back to normal. And judging by how he wasn't taken into police or federal custody, then he was counting himself lucky no one knew who he was. Although, there was now some amateur footage floating around the internet from the fight at the expo. Most of it was about Iron Man but there were a few small snip-its of him in action. Luckily, the video quality was so low that all you could tell that it was someone about 6ft with glowing hands, nothing else. That made him feel a bit easier, but he'd keep a lower profile for now. Besides, it's not like he was a trouble magnet.

Unknown to him, there was a serious battle/attack/invasion in New Mexico between the police/government agents, weird people with swords and a giant grey metal suit. It was the first physical altercation that SHIELD had with beings that were not of this earth. It turns out that the legends of Asgard were true as Thor, the god of thunder defended earth from an attack. The fight was brief, and no clear answers were given about why this battle even had to take place, but one thing was clear, there were other people out there and they were dangerous. So, Director Fury knew that this attack could be the first of many, so SHIELD and the world needed to be ready.

Fury was at the Triskelion, primary headquarters of SHIELD in his private audience having a meeting with the World Security Council about the recent attacks at the STARK Expo, the incident in New Mexico and the attack by the Hulk at Culver University. These kinds of attacks have been escalating and it was only a matter of time before another one happened and who knows the destruction and death it could bring. Fury was in his office, secured, encrypted and by himself for his meeting.

He walked up wall monitor and pressed his hand against a palm reader and his eye against a retinal scanner. They scanned it for a second and lit up green. "Call World Security Council." Fury said.

" _Calling."_ The computer said as his screen was split into 6 sections for the six members of the world security council.

"Directory Fury." They all said as Fury nodded.

"Councilors. I'm sure you're aware of the recent uptick in unusual and dangerous incidents that have been occurring." Fury said.

" _That's an understatement, Director. Armored machines attacking in New York, The Hulk squaring off with the military at Culver University and now this attack in New Mexico. What SHIELD has always feared seems to be happening."_ Councilor 1 said.

" _These events are escalating. Dealing with Iron Man or the Hulk have been easy, but this newest attack has us worried. These being, Asgardians…should they be considered a threat?"_ Councilor 2 asked.

"I'm afraid I can't make that conclusive statement, Councilor. It's safe to say that Asgard has its fair share of good and bad people like Earth." Director Fury said.

" _That doesn't reassure us, Director. These aren't a few random terrorists who happened upon a cache of weapons, these are beings from another world with abilities and technology that is beyond anything we have now. What's the status of the destroyer robot that attacked the town?"_ Councilor 3 asked.

"It's being analyzed and secured as we speak. I also have a few of my scientists trying to reverse-engineer the robot's weapons system. Highest level clearance and security to make sure that nothing is leaked." Director Fury said.

" _Good. We'll need an edge should something like this happen again and based on the pattern we've experienced that would seem to be the case. We'll be giving SHIELD additional funding to prepare for future extra-terrestrial or global threats. We want you to begin testing and analysis on the Tesseract as well. The cube could give us the edge against future threats."_ Councilor 4 said as Director Fury nodded.

"I believe I have someone who can help us proceed with the Tesseract project." Fury said.

" _Good, and we want further progress on the Avengers Initiative. Aside from Mr. Stark, who else is SHIELD looking into for the project?"_ Councilor 5 asked.

"Agents Romanoff and Barton are ideal candidates for the project as well as Mr. Stark's associate, Colonel Rhodes. From the report Agent Coulson gave me, Thor can be considered an ally so if contact with Asgard is made, Thor is another option." Fury told them.

" _And the mysterious individual who aided Mr. Stark during the Expo?"_ Councilor 1 asked.

"Still unknown at the moment, councilor but we'll have an assessment soon." Director Fury said.

" _Soon may not be soon enough. War is on the horizon, director. And the world needs SHIELD to be ready."_ Councilor 2 said as Fury nodded and the video conference ended.

Fury then walked into his office and pressed a button on his intercom and Agent Hill walked in. "Sir?" Hill asked.

"Get me Coulson, Barton, and Romanoff. I want a full assessment and file on the individual from the expo in 48 hours." Fury said.

"Yes, sir." Hill said as she left.

Line Break xxxxx

Will was well into his first week at his internship and he was really enjoying himself. He liked his work and he was getting awesome field experience for mechanical engineering degree. To his surprise, he got a complete grasp and understanding of all the systems at PSEG in only two days and considering the size and complexity of the entire facility it was something he was curious about. He tested it by getting a physics book from the library one day on the way home from work. He read it cover to cover in the span of about a few hours and had a complete understanding of everything in the book.

It's like his brain was working in overdrive and he could understand a lot more than he could before. It's not to say that he was an idiot before the meteor changed him, he was a smart guy but now he was like a genius. He told his parents about this little new ability and they weren't sure what it meant since this was all new to them. His mother mentioned that since Will's was practicing his telekinesis, his brain was getting stronger. So, it could be a side effect of his telekinesis that his brain is working faster than before, effectively making him smarter. If that was the case, Will wasn't going to kiss a gift horse on the mouth.

Will was eating a pork roll sandwich in the break room as the TV played the local news. He took a sip of water as he saw the news report something about the clean up from the STARK Expo. Something about STARK Industries in talks with the companies and think tanks from the EXPO to make up for the damage or now the lack of exposure because of what happened. The news then changed to the fallout of what was being called the Battle of Harlem where the Hulk and some other creature fought in the middle of borough with the Hulk being victorious. The Hulk vanished after the fight while the other creature was taken into federal custody.

Will looked at recordings of fight and it was intense, way more than what happened at the EXPO. He wondered if he had been there that maybe he could have done something but there's nothing he can do about it now. Will finished his lunch and was going back to work, exiting the break room when he nearly ran into someone.

"Oh, sorry." Will said as he saw who he nearly knocked over. She was short, at about 5ft3 and had dark red hair, dressed in business attire.

"It's ok, it's my fault. I'm new here. I've been trying to figure my way around here." She said as Will nodded.

"Don't worry, happened to me as well but you'll get use to it." Will replied.

"I'm Natalie Rushman, Engineer Donnelly's new assistant." Natalie said as she held her hand out and Will shook it.

"Oh, I'm Will Detmer, intern. Nice to meet you." Will said as he checked his watch and saw he needed to get back to work. "Sorry to cut and run but I've got to get back to work. I'll see you around."

Will smiled and waved goodbye as he went back to his workstation while Natalie smiled and waved back. When he was out of view, she checked to make sure no one was watching her and pulled out her phone to dial a secret number.

"Romanoff here. I've made contact with the target." Romanoff said.

" _Maintain your cover and report what you can on the target. Try and get close to him and don't blow your cover."_ Coulson told her.

"Roger that." Romanoff said as she hung up.

Will finished his day and went to catch the bus to get back home. He walked to his house from the bus stop and saw a black Rolls Royce parked by the street. "Whoa, nice car." Will said as he unlocked his front door and walked in.

"Will?" He heard his mom call out.

"I'm home." Will said as he took off his shoes.

"Can you come to the living room, Will? There's someone here to see you." He heard his dad shout.

"Sure. Did you guys see the Rolls Royce on the street?" Will asked as he walked into the living room and saw his parents sitting on the couch, drinking coffee but that wasn't what shocked him. He saw that his parents had three guests. One was a tall, hefty guy in a suit, the other was an African American man, about his dad's age wearing a sports jacket and pants and the last guest was Tony Stark himself.

"You like the car kid?" Tony asked.

"Will's got good taste when it comes to cars." Harold said.

"Something he got from his dad." Rhodey joked as Harold chuckled.

"Holy crap." Will said as they chuckled. "What's Tony Stark doing here?"

"I'm here to see you, kid." Tony said as Will was confused.

"See me about what?" Will asked, trying to play dumb.

"They know, Will." Mary said as Will looked at him.

"You saved us from Vanko and we saw you saved a lot of other people at the Expo. Nicely done, Will." Rhodey said.

"How did you know it was me?" Will asked as Tony took out his phone and showed Will a security camera recording from the Expo. It showed an empty but destroyed section of the park and in the reflection of one of the buildings, you could see Will putting on the hoodie and face mask he wore. "Oh."

"Yeah. Don't worry, I deleted the footage once I saw who you were. I figured if you put the mask and hoodie on you didn't want people to know who you were." Tony said as Will nodded.

"Thanks. So, why did you track me down?" Will asked.

"Wanted to meet my mystery savior in person. Don't think I've ever seen someone rip apart a million-dollar battle suit without touching it." Tony said as he looked at Will. "So, how do you do it?"

Will looked and saw an empty cup, so he raised his hand slightly as it glowed blue. The coffee pot then floated up and poured into the empty cup before it floated back to the ground. "I'm unique." Will said as the cup then floated in the air and over to Will who took it and took a sip.

"Wow. You've got one heck of kid here." Tony said as Will chuckled.

"Yeah, Will's one of a kind." Harold said.

"How did this happen?" Rhodey asked.

"I'm not exactly sure. I had a little too much to drink the same night a meteor nearly killed me." Will said.

"A meteor?" Rhodey asked.

"Yeah, some kind of glowing blue meteor. I touched it, had one hell of headache and the next thing I know I have telekinesis." Will said as they were shocked.

"Wow, that's one hell of a story. And you've kept to yourself about this." Tony said.

"Yeah. I've watched enough movies to know that if the government finds out about me, they'd tag me like a wild animal and probe me." Will said as Tony chuckled.

"That's actually why we're here, Will. Aside from thanking you for your help." Rhodey said.

"SHIELD knows about what you did at the Expo and is going to be looking for you now." Tony said.

"What's SHIELD?" Will asked.

"Strategic Homeland something or other. They're a government agency that came to me when I came out as Iron Man. Something about keeping people and the world safe from threats and stuff like that. But if they know about you, they're going to be watching you so keep your skills a secret for now." Tony said as he stood up and handed Will a card. "My number. Something happens, give me a call."

"Thanks, Mr. Stark. But why are you doing this?" Will asked.

"You saved my ass. It's the least I can do. And you saved Rhodey like your old man did back in the day, so this is me doing the same." Tony said as Will nodded.

"Thank you." Will said as Tony nodded and pat him on the arm.

"Give me call when you graduate. I'm starting a new research place in New York, and could do with someone will talent and skills. You've got a future ahead of you kid." Tony said as he and his bodyguard left.

"Thanks for the coffee, Harold. Stay in touch." Rhodey said as he and Harold shook hands.

"You too. Stay safe." Harold said as Rhodey nodded.

"Thanks again, Will. Your parent's spoke highly of you. You've got a bright future ahead of you." Rhodey said as he shook Will's hand and left.

"Holy crap." Will said as his parents nodded.

"Yeah." Harold replied.

"You ok, Will?" Mary asked.

"I'm fine. I was hoping that this wouldn't happen, but beggars can't be choosers. So, what do we do?" Will asked.

"Well, we do what Tony said. Keep a low profile. To the rest of the world, you're just Will Detmer. No one knows what you can do so they have no reason to look into you. We just play it cool and act like everything is normal." Harold said.

Down the block of Will's home, a white van was parked on the side of the road with two men looking down the street with binoculars. "Looks like Stark found our person of interest before we did." Coulson said.

"You really think this kid is an 0-8-4 like the Director thinks?" Barton asked.

"I don't know. No one on the index has his kind of abilities and there's no evidence as to what caused them. Fury wants a full analysis on William Detmer for the index and possibly for the Avenger's initiative." Coulson said.

"You think he'd be a good fit?" Barton asked.

"He saved Mr. Stark and Colonel Rhodes at the Expo along with dozens of other people. I'd say he's already qualified. The only issue is making sure he doesn't go insane like Blonsky." Coulson said as he looked at the full file they had on William Detmer. Medical history, academic grades, no criminal record, and all around good kid. They also got his blood and DNA from the hospital and actually found a paternal DNA match to Detmer from within SHIELD.

"And as for the kid's biological father? Think we should let him know?" Barton asked.

"No. That's a thread we don't want to pull on yet, even if we should at all." Coulson said.

Line Break xxxxx

A month had passed since Tony Stark came to Will and his parents and like they agreed, they kept a low profile. Will hadn't used his powers since, even in private just to be safe and went about things like normal. He went to his internship during the week, ate dinner with his parents, hung out with his friends on the weekend and went to the gym every other day. Overall, Will couldn't tell that anything was different or that he was being followed.

Will finished his work and was heading home from his internship after a solid week of work to enjoy the weekend. Natalie Rushman looked at Will as he left the building and was heading home. She has been closely watching him for the past month and from what she's seen and their talks and encounters, he was a normal upcoming college senior. He was smart, courteous and had a good heart from what she saw, and she didn't notice any ill traits or characteristics that would suggest he was psychologically compromised or unstable, but SHIELD would need more than that. She sent a message to Coulson and Barton her daily assessment, but Fury had contacted them that someone with Will's powers, a unique approach might be the key to getting him to help.

Will took the bus home as usual, took a shower and change his clothes to go meet his friends. They were going to head to one of the clubs at Bally's hotel and casino. Will took a bus to the city and joined his friends at the club. They went in and were greeted by the sound of loud music and bright lights. They walked to the bar and got a round of drinks and began enjoying themselves.

Will got another beer as he chatted with some girls at the bar when he saw Natalie walk in. She saw him and waved as he waved back. Will's friend, Riley Brody saw who he was waving at. "Whoa, who's the red head?" Riley asked.

"Natalie Rushman. She works at PSEG." Will told her as he nodded. Will then saw his other friend, Keith Ramsay talking to some girls when some guys got in his face. "Oh shit, Keith's in trouble."

"Must have hit on the wrong guy's girl." Riley joked as they walked over when Keith decked the guy who got in his face and knocked him out. Riley and Will immediately grabbed Keith and left the club when the guy's friends attacked them. Keith punched the guy who came up to him as Will ducked to avoid a punch and punched the guy the gut and socked him across the face, knocking him out.

"Yeah!" Keith shouted as they saw security coming so they bailed.

The fight in the club soured their night there so they decided to head to another one. The night went on as Will and his friends enjoyed themselves. They drank and danced as the night went on and Will was having fun and he forgot about his powers and everything. He went to the bar to get another drink as some girls were flirting with him. One of the girls touched his arm and Will got a slight sting in his head and heard something.

" _Whoa, this guy's arms are big. He must work out a lot."_ He heard.

"Did you say something?" He asked as she smiled at him when his head began to hear more voices.

" _Damn. That girl is bleeding me dry with her drinks." "Wow, what a cheapskate. He won't be getting any tonight." "Whoa, that red head is hot as hell." "Where the hell did Keith get to?" "Is someone delivering a baby or what? What's with the fucking long line at the bathroom?" "What the hell happened to my wallet?"_ Will kept hearing voices but from the loud music and other people shouting, there was no way he heard people talking from across the bar or a few feet away.

"Are you ok?" He heard the girl asked as he nodded.

"Yeah…I—I just need to use the bathroom." Will said as he made his way through the crowd of people to the bathroom. He went to the sink and washed his face, letting the water cool him down and relaxing him. He washed his face again and dried it with some paper towels as he looked himself in the mirror. He seemed fine as he checked his eyes and they seemed normal.

"What the hell is going on?" Will asked himself as closed his eyes and slowed his breathing to calm down. He saw some other guys come into the bathroom and they went to the stall.

"Hey, dude, did you see that hot ass red head by the bar?" The guy asked.

"Oh, yeah. Man was she hot. Think she's got a date?" His friend asked.

"If she does, he nothing to me." The guy said.

" _Yeah, right dude."_ Will heard his friend thought.

"I got to get out of here." Will said as he left the bathroom and made his way out of the club. He pushed his way past a horde of club goers and could hear more thoughts and voices in his head. Will calmed his mind and the voices and thoughts got less and less as he finally made his way out of the club and into the lobby of the hotel.

Will slowed his breathing and calmed down, as the voices in his head stopped. He regulated his breathing and noticed people looking at him funny. Will looked at one of the hotel bellhops who walked up to him.

"Sir, are you, all right?" He asked.

"Yeah. Just had to get out of there." Will said as the bellhop nodded.

"Would you like me to get you a cab?" The bellhop asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great." Will said as the bellhop nodded. Will watched the bellhop go to the entrance but heard a voice in his head.

" _Damn drunk kids."_ He heard as Will shook his head and calmed down and the voice stopped.

"Telepathy, just what I needed." Will said sarcastically as he walked to the entrance and saw the taxi the bellhop got.

"Your taxi, sir." The bellhop said as Will nodded and pulled out 40 bucks.

"As a sorry for the drunk kids you deal with." Will said as the bellhop happily took the tip and Will got in the taxi and it took him home and as soon as Will got home he dropped dead on his bed like a sack of potatoes.

Will woke up the next morning with a hangover and felt like crap. He took a shower and walked into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. He sat down at the kitchen table and took a sip of coffee and felt his hangover get slightly better. He closed his eyes and let the aroma of fresh brewed coffee fill his nose and clear his head of the cloud from his hangover. Will heard footsteps and saw his dad walk in.

"Oh, fun night, Will?" Harold asked.

"Sort of." Will said as he took another sip of coffee as his dad handed him two Advil. "Thanks. Where's mom?"

"She had an early morning at the hospital and I've got to head to station. Think you can take care of breakfast by yourself?" Harold asked.

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem." Will said as his dad put his coffee into a thermos.

"How about we head out to Maria's Luncheonette tomorrow for breakfast? Like old times?" Harold asked as Will nodded.

"Sounds good." Will replied as his dad left for work. Will finished his cup of coffee and got to work on his breakfast. He decided to go with eggs, bacon and toast. He ate a nice breakfast and his hangover was feeling a lot better than when he woke up. He did the dishes and decided to take a walk to clear his head. The sun was shining bright and it wasn't humid, so it was warm but bearable. He kept walking and eventually made his way to the boardwalk where there was a horde of tourists and people on vacation. Will made his way down the boardwalk and sat down on a bench to relax.

He looked around and saw the horde of people and he was surprised that he wasn't getting a horde of thoughts enter his head like last night. He looked around and decided to see is he could activate his telepathy but in a more controlled setting. He looked at the technician at one of the carnival games and closed his eyes and concentrated.

" _That's it. Keep trying kid. There's no way you're winning."_ Will heard as he opened his eyes.

Will then saw a tornado pie shop was over crowded and the chefs couldn't keep up, so he decided to see what the owner was thinking. _"Damn, why did Harry have to call in sick today of all days."_ Will heard in his head.

Will then saw one sketching looking guy walk by and going towards a family. _"That's a nice purse. Perfect._ " Will heard as the guy then grabbed the purse and ran.

"Hey, he took my purse!" the woman shouted as Will saw the guy push people out of his way. Will raised his leg up and the guy tripped and hit the deck like a ton of bricks as the nearby police officer ran over and cuffed the guy.

Will picked up the woman's purse as the woman ran over. "Here you go, ma'am." Will said as the woman was rejoiced.

"Thank you so much. God bless you." She said as she rejoined her family while the officers took the thief away.

"Nicely done, kid." The officer said as he took the thief away.

Will smiled as he stood up and decided to get something to eat. He walked over to get a slice of pizza. He got his slice and sat down, enjoying his pizza and relaxing as he people watched. He finished his slice and downed his soda when out of the corner of his eye he could have sworn he saw Natalie. He looked and tried to find her but didn't see anything, but he did see two guys dressed in business suits, which was weird in the summer at the boardwalk.

Will threw out his garbage and walked away, on his way to catch a bus to get home. He waited at the bus stop when he began getting the tingling sensation in the back of his head like at the Expo. He looked around and didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so he decided to run a little experiment and see if his telepathy could pick up something. He closed his eyes and stretched out his telepathy and began getting the thoughts of everyone with a ten-foot radius and they consisted of either a comment on people in swimsuits, thoughts on the weather, confused as to where to go now and other things that are better left unsaid.

The bus then came as Will got on and the tingling sensation didn't come back so he disregarded the tingling sensation as him being on edge. Will got back home and watched some TV, resting and relaxing. It was around dinner when his parents came home with pizza. "Hey, Will. How was your day?" Harold asked.

"Eventual. I think I learned a new power." Will said as they looked at him.

"What? Can you fly now?" Mary asked as Will chuckled.

"No. It's telepathy. It actually happened last night, when I heard voices in my head. At first, I thought they were mine but then I tried again today, and I think I got it down." Will said as they looked at each other.

"Ok, what am I thinking right now?" Harold asked as Will looked at him.

"One of your detectives passed the sergeants exam and you're excited to tell him." Will said as Harold was shocked that it was exactly what he was thinking.

"Ok, what about me?" Mary asked as Will looked at her.

"You're thinking I'm crazy and this is all in my head and that you wished I never came into contact with that meteor." Will said as Mary was shocked at what he said. "Believe me, so do I."

"Well, you seem to have a handle on it. Are you constantly hearing other people's thoughts or what?" Harold asked.

"No, it's not automatic. Last night, I think all the alcohol I had was messing with my brain, so it hit me all at once. I did it today and I have to concentrate on the person to hear their thoughts. This could prove to be fun." Will said with a smile as his parents were concerned.

"Easy, Will. You're opening Pandora's box with mind reading. It's not something you should take lightly or use whenever you want." Harold told him.

"Yes, dad." Will replied.

"Ok, let's forget about superpowers and everything and enjoy a normal dinner." Mary said as they enjoyed a nice dinner, completely unaware as to what would happen tomorrow.

Line Break xxxxx

Will and his parents woke up early on Sunday to get breakfast at Maria's, one of the best places to get breakfast in the city. Will and his parents used to go all the time when Will was growing up and in Highschool but when Will started college, they didn't go as often so this was a nice treat. The place was small, but it was an amazing place for breakfast. Will and his parents walked in to see the place was only partially occupied which was weird since even early in the morning, Maria's would be packed.

"Huh, place isn't that packed. How lucky is that, Will?" Mary asked as they sat down at the counter as a waitress came by.

"Morning, all." She said as Will saw her nametag said Linda.

"Morning. Where's Wendy? She not working today?" Harold asked.

"Oh, she came down with a bug. I'm Linda, I'll be taking care of you guys. Would you like some coffee?" Linda asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great." Mary said as they sat down as Will grabbed his coffee cup when he heard the click of heels. He looked and saw Linda walk over to get a fresh coffee pot and she was wearing black high-heels. Will raised an eyebrow as he looked around and saw a guy by one of the tables wearing a business suit, reading the Financial Times.

Linda came by and poured Harold and Mary their coffee. When she got to Will, he noticed she was shaking. "You ok?" Will asked.

"I'm fine." She said as she glanced to Will's left. Will looked and saw a guy dressed like a trucker, wearing a plaid shirt, vest, and dirty hat.

Will looked at Linda as she put the coffee pot down. Will grabbed his cup of coffee to take a sip and saw _911_ was written in pen on his napkin.

"You got a problem, boy?" Will heard as he turned to see the trucker guy looking at him. "I said, you got a problem, boy?"

"No. No problem." Will said as he didn't need to read his mind to see where this was going.

"All right, nobody move!" The guy shouted as he pulled out a military-issued Sig Sauer P320 pistol and waved it around as the guy in the business suit stood up and pulled out a shotgun.

"Nobody move! On the ground!" he shouted as everyone shouted in fear. Will turned to his dad, who slowly reached for his service gun when Will shook his head no. Harold looked at his son like he was crazy as the guy with the shotgun shouted for everyone to get down and for the waitress to empty the register.

The trucker got in Will's face and pointed the gun at him, threatening him. "Keep still or I'll make damn sure you stop breathing." He said as he looked to his partner. "Empty that register!"

Wil then grabbed and twisted the guy's pistol hand, grabbed him by the jacket and slammed him onto the table, with his face smashing into the coffee pot. The guy dropped the gun and shouted in pain as Will stood up.

"Will, what are you doing?!" His mother shouted as the guy with the shotgun threatened him.

"Get back! I said get back!" He shouted but Will grabbed the shotgun and then punched him in the face, sending him to the ground. Will put the shotgun on the table when he heard clapping. He turned and at another table, another guy in a business suit was clapping.

"Well done, Mr. Detmer. I'm impressed." He said as Will looked at him.

"Who the hell are you?" Will asked as the man stood up.

"My name is Phil Coulson, I'm with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division." Coulson said.

"SHIELD, I know. I thought something seemed off when we walked in." Will said as his parents were confused.

"What do you mean? This place is Maria's Luncheonette, a regular diner." Coulson said as Will looked around and chuckled.

"Yeah, it is. But even on a slow day, Maria's would never be this empty. I've come here my entire life and in 18 years, this place has always been full. Once I saw that, I began to see that there were other things that weren't normal, like the stock broker with the shot gun." Will said, pointing to the guy bleeding on the floor. "Here he was, all dressed up reading the Financial Times on a Sunday morning when the market's closed."

"Unlikely, but possible so ok. Then there was the angry trucker carrying a military issued Sig Sauer pistol. Growing up with a dad in the military and then police, you notice these things. But where you blew it was with your waitress, Linda." Will said, pointing to her. "My friend's mom has been in the diner business her entire life. There's no way a career waitress comes to work in high heels. She'd have blisters the size of a hamburger before breakfast was over. And if she wasn't real, then this entire thing was staged. Which was why I guessed that the robbers wouldn't fire off a shot and why I waved off my dad from pulling out his gun. Not give him the paperwork of discharging his weapon."

Harold and Mary were shocked at how Will just picked apart the entire thing when they didn't notice while Agent Coulson was extremely impressed. "Well done, Mr. Detmer." Will heard as he saw a tall African American guy, wearing a black suit/trench coat and wearing and eyepatch enter the diner, flanked by two more agents, one he recognized as Natalie. "I'm impressed."

"What the hell was all this?" Harold asked as they stood by their son.

"A test, Captain Detmer. One your son passed with flying colors." The trench coat wearing man said as he stepped forward. "Nick Fury, director of SHIELD. We've been watching you for a while, Mr. Detmer."

"What the hell for? What do you want with me?" Will asked.

"A chance to meet the mystery hooded man who saved 38 people at the Expo." Fury said as he sat down at a table. "Please, sit."

Will looked at his parents who reluctantly nodded so they sat across from the director. "Forgive all the pop and circumstance, but after seeing how you handled yourself at the Expo, I thought that something like this would-be child's play." Fury said.

"I'm not a soldier." Will replied.

"No, but trained by a fine one." Fury said as Natalie handed him three files. "I believe you know agent Natasha Romanov."

"I'm guessing you weren't at PSEG for the benefits." Will joked as Natasha cracked a smirk.

"I was assigned to watch over you by Director Fury to make sure you were safe." Romanoff said.

"Safe from what?" Will asked as Director Fury looked over the files.

"Safe from people who would do you harm." Fury told him. "SHIELD is not here to hurt you, Mr. Detmer. This test was only for our benefit, to see how you react in a tense situation. Your exploits during the Expo, while impressive, weren't completely illuminating. Thank you, by the way, for what you did."

"What do you want with Will?" Harold asked.

"Just to get to know him and find out what happened." Fury said as he put the files down. "Captain Detmer, you have never heard of our organization, have you?"

"No." Harold replied.

"It's because SHIELD technically doesn't exist to the public. A few key government officials around the world are aware of what we do." Fury said.

"What do you do?" Mary asked.

"We protect the world, Mrs. Detmer. The goal of SHIELD is protection. We protect the world from information and threats that they're not ready to handle. For example, we do our best to make sure that rogue governments don't have access to a billion-dollar battle suit. Failing that, we keep them safe. And that brought us to you, Mr. Detmer." Fury said as he showed them Will's file and still images of him from the Expo in hoodie and mask, destroying Hammer drones.

"Tony Stark said you'd come for me. So, what? Are you doing to hit me with a tranq dart? Probe me?" Will asked as Romanoff chuckled.

"Not unless you give us reason to. Mr. Stark, while helpful in some instances is also someone who we've had to watch. His personality and tendencies make him…unstable to be polite. All SHIELD wants is to keep the world safe and your sudden…appearance is a red flag." Fury said as he looked at Will. "Soon to be college senior, 3.9 GPA, high school soccer and track star. Not so much as a blemish on your record so you'll understand why we're curious as to how a seemingly normal young man can rip apart a high-tech battle suit without touching it."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Will said.

"Try me." Fury said as Will decided to test his telepathy and read the minds of the people in the room and from what he could hear, they were telling the truth so far. Will looked at his parents who nodded, so he decided to take a leap of faith.

"It happened several months ago. I came home for a long weekend and went to a party with some friends. I had a little too much to drink so I went to clear my head when a meteor crashed down near me." Will said.

"A meteor? Where?" Fury asked.

"Near Great Island." Will said as Coulson stepped forward.

"SHIELD got reports of a possible meteor strike near Great Island, but we couldn't find anything. All we found was an impact crater and the remains of what seemed like a party." Coulson said.

"Yeah, that was me and my friends. They didn't see it either." Will said.

"What happened to the meteor?" Coulson asked.

"I'm not sure. It landed near me and my curiosity got the better of me and I went to see it. It was maybe the size of a car tire…made up of blue crystals. It was an amazing site to see." Will said as he remembered he took a video of it, so he took out his phone, quickly hit the call button before bringing up the video and showing them.

"Incredible." Fury said as he saw the video play out and the meteor, to Will's word looked like it was made out of blue crystals, like diamonds. The video played out and they saw Will touch the meteor. "You touched it?"

"My curiosity got the better of me. The next thing I go, it started glowing brighter, then a whoosh of air hit me, my brain felt like it was going through a meat grinder and I passed out. I woke up a few minutes later when my friends found me, and the meteor was gone. I woke up being able to do this." Will said as he raised his hand as his cup of coffee floated from the counter and over to him.

"Mr. Detmer, thank you for telling us the truth. But we'd like to move you to a secure facility where we can run some tests on you, just to make sure that what you touched isn't contagious or is doing anything harmful to your body." Fury told him.

"You're not taking my son anywhere." Harold told him as he got in front of Will.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Detmer but this is in Will's best interest to come with us. We need to make sure that whatever the meteor did to him isn't slowly killing him or infecting others. The security and well-being of the planet could be at risk." Coulson said as Mary held her son.

"I already checked him over. You're not taking my son to be a lab rat for your god forsaken tests." Mary said as Will thought about it and he didn't realize that he could have put people in danger just by touching the meteor. Or that the meteor infected him with something that's slowly killing him.

"Mom, dad…it's ok. I'll go with them." Will said.

"Will, you don't have to." Harold told him.

"No, they're right. That meteor could have infected me with a disease for all we know. I need to make sure." Will said as Fury nodded. "But I have some conditions?"

"Such as?" Fury asked.

"I'm not exactly a fan of needles and there better not be probes of any kind for your tests." Will said as Fury chuckled.

"SHIELD is more than advance enough to find out what happened to you without using needles or probes, but deal." Fury said.

"Before you do anything to me, I want to know exactly what it is and no lying. You lie to me, that's a deal breaker." Will said as Fury nodded.

"Done." Fury said.

"And my parents can come, without black bags over their head or being kept away. Those are my conditions. Failing that, our conversation hasn't exactly been kept secret as my phone called Tony Stark about ten minutes ago. He probably heard everything, so if you decide to kill us or do god knows what to me, you'll have an issue on your hands." Will said with a smirk as held up his phone and it had called Tony Stark. Natasha was impressed that Will thought ahead.

"Impressive, Mr. Detmer." Fury said.

"My dad always said to always think ahead if you want to make it in this world." Will replied.

"Truer words have never been spoken. You have a deal." Fury said.

Line Break xxxxx

Will and his parents were escorted into a SHIELD car and taken to what looked like a regular office building about three blocks away from Time Square in New York City. Will thought they had arrived at a regular business building when they were escorted through the front and he saw the heavily armed security guards and high-tech security cameras and systems all over the building. Will and his parents were searched and given guest security badges before they were escorted to one of the medical labs.

They walked in and it seemed like something you'd see out of a sci-fi movie because it was filled with tech that was either too advance or didn't even exist to the public. "Whoa. I feel like I stepped into something out of Blade Runner." Will said.

"That's why we joined SHIELD, for the toys." Coulson said as he escorted Will to the lone medical exam table/chair. "If you could take off your shirt and lay down, we'll begin."

Will did, showing his toned and well-built body as he sat in the chair and one of the SHIELD doctors attached a small circular wristband with an iv tube to Will's right wrist. "What's this?" Will asked.

"It's our version of an IV drip. It lets us monitor your vitals as well as draw blood without the pain of a regular needle." Coulson said as Will nodded. Will sat down, and relaxed Coulson left the room and joined Director Fury in the observation room. "I'm surprised your still here, Director. You know the dangers of being in the field for too long."

"I'm in danger everywhere I go, Coulson. This is a particular case I want to keep a close eye on. Mr. Detmer is our first proven case of psychic powers. No one on the index has his kind of abilities. He could prove to be a valuable asset for SHIELD." Fury said as the computers began to record and analyze the data from Will's blood. "Begin multi-spectrum biological scan."

"Yes, sir." The doctor said as he pressed a few buttons and a large scanner lowered from the ceiling. Multiple beams of light ran over Will's body as they began scanning Will's body and relaying the information to the computers.

"Skeletal, muscular and organ structure is the same as his file has shown. No changes or mutations there." The scientist said as they brought up Will's blood work and there was the first sign that something in Will had changed.

"What on earth happened to his DNA?" Coulson asked as they computers extrapolated an image of Will's DNA and it showed a DNA molecule like anyone human but now there were extra macromolecules and genetic markers that weren't on his old DNA tests.

"What are we looking at?" Fury asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, sir. His previous DNA samples did nothing to indicate these kinds of genetic changes were possible…but this is something completely foreign to me." The scientist said.

"So, his DNA is mutated, like Banners?" Fury asked.

"No, sir. Banner's change eradiated his blood and gave him a unique DNA structure but his DNA is still human. This DNA…it's not humanely possible." The scientist said.

"Perhaps the meteor Mr. Detmer came into contact engaged some kind of genetic change in his body." Coulson said.

"But it's scientifically impossible to undergo such a drastic genetic change in the span of a few minutes. It's like his body underwent years of genetic evolution in the span of a few moments." The scientist said.

"So, Will Detmer evolved into something we don't know about but from all our research, before he came into contact with the meteor he was a normal human." Fury said as the scientist nodded.

"Yes, sir. Everything shows that Mr. Detmer was just like you or I before this happened. That meteor must have triggered something in Mr. Detmer that caused this change. And from my scans, it would seem that his body adapted to these changes but if this happened to anyone else…the results would likely be death." The scientist said.

"So, the same change that occurred to Mr. Detmer, would kill anyone else if they underwent it?" Fury asked as the scientist nodded.

"From what I can guess, yes. The changes that his DNA went under were somehow tailor to his DNA specifically. The computer suggests that if this happened to anyone else, they likely would have died." The scientist said. "But other than the genetic change, we've detected no signs of radiation, disease, or foreign energy in his body. Aside from the genetic change, Mr. Detmer is completely healthy, more so than a typical male his age."

"Your professional statement on what we've learned today?" Fury asked as the scientist exhaled.

"Sir, I've been privy to very secure and secretive projects under your and Agent's Coulson's authority and Mr. Detmer's blood does share some…passing resemblance to the DNA for Project TAHITI." The Scientist said as Coulson and Fury were shocked.

"Are you sure about that?" Coulson asked.

"I can't say for certain at the moment, sir without further testing but this DNA structure has a similarity to the host DNA for Project Tahiti. It seems that whatever the meteor did to Mr. Detmer changed his DNA similar to that. It would seem that Mr. Detmer is now part alien. But Mr. Detmer still shares 99.8% of the human genome that we do. How this is possible, I'm not sure. We need to run more tests." The scientist said as Fury nodded.

"Keep Mr. Detmer's DNA out of his index file and log it away with a level 10 clearance level. This news stays with us until we learn more." Fury told Coulson.

"Yes, sir." Coulson replied as he and scientists exported the DNA files on Will to a secure hard drive that Coulson carried. "Anything else?"

"Yes. Our scans have also showed how Mr. Detmer's new ability is possible." The scientist said as he now brought up an image of Will's brain and it was active to say the least. "Our scans show that the cerebrum, cerebellum and brainstem are active in ways that have never been recorded in human history. His neural pathways and neuron activity is astonishing. His brain activity is off the charts to say the least."

"Hyperactive?" Coulson asked.

"Yes, but completely healthy. The scans show no negative effects for this kind of unusual brain behavior and as to how Mr. Detmer is now, this is amazing." The scientist said as usually this extreme case of hyperactivity or active brain chemistry would mean that Will would be jumping off the sides of the room like the road runner, but he was completely fine. There were also no signs of tumors, nerve damage or neuron mis-firing. Will's brain was the picture-perfect example of higher brain excellence.

"You think the meteor caused this?" Fury asked.

"I don't think so, sir. The scanners would have picked up some kind of foreign element in the subject's brain scans, but I think this might be a genetic change caused by the changes to Mr. Detmer's new DNA." The scientist said.

"Will did say that when this happened, he felt his brain was going through a meat grinder." Coulson said.

"It might have been a side effect of the new genetic and mental changes his body underwent. His brain was adjusting to the new developments." The scientist said as this new discovery amazed him.

"Log this with Mr. Detmer's DNA under level 10 clearance level." Fury said as the scientist nodded. "Coulson, give the Detmer's a brief summary of what we've discovered and gauge their reactions. I'll talk to Mr. Detmer after."

Coulson nodded as he left the observation room and walked into the medical room to see Will sitting on the exam table with his parents next to him. "Agent Coulson, how much longer do you plan on keeping Will here?" Harold asked.

"Not much longer. We've gotten everything we need, and the Director has seen fit to let you know that William is in perfect health a man his age. We've detected no alien parasites or dangerous radiation that could put Will or anyone else in danger." Coulson said as Will read his mind and could tell there was more he wasn't telling them.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Will asked as Coulson nodded.

"We did learn that the meteor is the cause for your new mental powers." Coulson said as he showed them an image of Will's brain scan and they saw how hyperactive Will's brain was. "We believe the meteor somehow activated this change in your body and gave you your ability."

"Incredible. Will could be the smartest person in the world with a brain this powerful." Harold said as they looked at the scan.

"Any other kind of changes to Will?" Mary asked.

"None that we were able to detect." Coulson said as Will read his mind.

"Your lying." Will said as Coulson looked at him. "I thought I said that if you lie to me, this whole deal is over. Tell me the truth."

"It's all right, Agent Coulson." Coulson said as Director Fury walked in. "Forgive us, William but we felt that you wouldn't be ready to hear what we discovered."

"Well, if it has to do with my body, then I feel the right to know." Will replied.

"Well, we discovered the meteor activated the change in your brain that gave you your powers, but it did something else as well. It also changed your DNA." Fury said as he showed them a scan of Will's DNA showing the extra macromolecules.

"Holy crap." Mary said as she was astonished at what she saw.

"I'm…a…a freak." Will said as he saw the DNA molecule.

"No, Will you're not a freak, ok. The meteor did this to you. It can be changed." Harold told him.

"Actually, it might not be that simple." Coulson told them. "The genetic changes in Will were completely custom to his DNA. Our data suggests that if anyone else had went through the same incident Will was exposed to, death would have been the likely outcome. The meteor somehow activated the genetic changes in your DNA and the only reason we can think that this was possible, and you didn't die is because your DNA history was not normal to begin with."

"What are you saying?" Will asked.

"Our data suggests that Will is still human, but his DNA now has in-human traits to them. Possibly latent DNA that was activated when he came into contact with the meteor." Fury told him.

"Inhuman? As in Alien?" Will asked as Fury and Coulson looked at each other.

"We're not sure at the moment, but that would be a likely possibility." Fury said.

Will was frozen in shock for a bit as he stood up and tore off the IV band. "Hold up, are you saying that I might be an Alien?!" Will asked.

"Part alien, Mr. Detmer. Your DNA still shows a 99.8% DNA match to the human genome." Coulson said.

"So, Will's part alien. That's a thing?" Harold asked.

"Can we back up to the part alien thing? Aliens are real?" Will asked as Coulson was ready to respond when Will stopped him. "Forget it, I don't want to know! How can you just say that I'm part alien! That isn't something you just say like it's no big deal."

"You wanted to know the truth. This was the best way for you to know the truth." Coulson said.

"Well, epic fail on the whole delivery of the news, by the way!" Will said as he grabbed his head and exhaled in frustration and panic. "I'm an alien."

Will kept repeated that over and over as his parents ran over to comfort him. "Will, calm down. You're part alien, ok. Part, you're still human." His father told him.

"How can you two not be freaking out about this?! I'm an alien!" Will said.

"Your human, Will. Your DNA doesn't change that. Being human isn't about DNA or genetics but philosophy. Just because your DNA says you may be part alien, that doesn't mean you aren't any less human that you've been your entire life." Mary told him.

"She's right, Mr. Detmer. Quite frankly, I believe you're more human than most of the people I've met in this line of work. A young man with tremendous potential and a good heart. This is still new science and we're on the same journey as you are. But this will only change you should you let it." Coulson told him, trying to help him calm down.

"Will, look at me." His mother said as Will did. She held her son close, comforting yet stern. "I know you think that I never wanted this to happen to you or that I may love you any less but your wrong. I will always love you because you are my son. I raised you from a baby who would always cry during the day to the young teenager who got in trouble for spray painting a rival school's gymnasium. You may not be my biological son and you may be part alien, but you are still you. You are William Detmer and more than anything else, don't forget that this doesn't change anything."

"She's right, Will. Your mother and I have and will always love you. Nothing on God's green earth or…space will ever change that." Harold said as Will smiled and started to calm down.

"Thanks, mom. Dad. I…I needed to hear that." Will said as they hugged him close.

"So, what happens to Will now?" Harold asked.

"Because of William's genetic revelation, we've put the sensitive information in an extremely secured file under the Director's direct clearance. No one else has access to this kind of information." Coulson told them.

"Thank you." Mary said as Coulson nodded.

"With Will's new abilities, we'll assign a SHIELD case agent as your point of contact to watch over Will and check in with him every now and then to make sure everything is fine." Coulson told them.

"And there's something else we'd like to discuss with you, Will. It's in regard to your future." Fury said.

"What about my future?" Will asked.

"From your file, you have a lot of potential to help the world. From helping to fix the world's energy crisis at a Fortune 500 company or you can help the world in a different way." Fury said as Will knew what he was suggesting.

"You want me to join SHIELD?" Will asked.

"With your existing knowledge and a little bit of training, I feel that you can do some serious good for this world." Fury said as he handed Will a file. Will took it and it read _Avenger Initiative_.

"Avenger Initiative?" Will asked.

"Sounds like a bad comic book." Harold said.

"What is it?" Mary asked as Will looked it over and saw they were various pictures and assessments on people like Iron Man, Natalie or her actual name as Agent Natasha Romanoff, another guy with a bow, and a blurred-out picture of a green giant. He also saw the devastation of a small town in New Mexico that he saw on the news.

"The incident in New Mexico. It wasn't a natural disaster, was it?" Will asked as Fury nodded.

"No, it was the beginning." Fury told him.

"Beginning of what? An invasion?" Harold asked as Fury shook his head no.

"The beginning of a change that SHIELD has been preparing for since its inception. I assume you know about the Strategic Scientific Reserve and Captain America." Fury said as Will nodded.

"Yeah, anyone who's ever taken a history class knows about the SSR and Captain America. The Strategic Scientific Reserve was founded by the allies during World War 2 to fight Hydra and the Red Skull. They made Captain America, but they disbanded after the war ended." Will said as his parents looked at him. "I always liked studying that period."

"That's what the public knows but the SSR didn't disband after the war was over. They kept active to save the world from new threats that kept popping up and SHIELD was founded shortly after. SHIELD was founded with a very simple goal in mind: Protection." Fury told him.

"Protection for what?" Will asked.

"Protection for everything. Whether that means protecting one man from himself when he becomes a danger or protecting the world from nuclear apocalypse. It's a very broad job description but the belief that drives us all is the same…that mankind is worth saving. SHIELD has been around for a long time and I've seen the absolute best and worst of this world, but these new threats are something the public isn't ready for. That's why SHIELD is here." Fury told him.

"So, why do you want me? I'm sure you have hundreds of highly skilled spies or whatever. Why do you need me? Or Iron Man for that matter?" Will asked, showing him the picture of Iron Man.

"Because there are now new threats facing the world that even SHIELD will need help with. That's where the Avenger Initiative comes into play." Fury told him as he walked around the room a bit. "The idea is to bring together a group of remarkable people and see if they can become something more…see if they can work together when we need them to. So that when we need them, that they could fight the battles that we never could. And I believe you have a part to play in that, Mr. Detmer."

"But I'm not a soldier or…a superhero. I'm just one man. What could I do?" Will asked as Coulson chuckled.

"A wise man once told me that a man can do the impossible once he realizes he's a part of something bigger." Coulson told him as Will didn't know what to say.

"I…I need to think about this." Will said as he walked over and put on his shirt.

"It's been a lot for you to take in. We've done everything that we needed today, so we'll have a SHIELD escort take you home and watch over you." Coulson told him as Mary and Harold nodded. "And it goes without saying that everything you've seen and heard today is not to be spoken about to anyone."

"Right." Harold said as they were escorted out of the lab and back into the main lobby of the SHIELD building. They handed over their guest passes, and their phones and electronic devices were returned as well as Harold's service pistol. They walked outside where a black SHIELD SUV was waiting for them along with two agents in suits.

"These men will escort you home and give you our emergency information should something happen." Coulson told Harold as they shook hands.

"Thank you, Agent Coulson." Harold replied.

Coulson looked at Will who was on his phone, checking his unread text messages from his friends. "Take good care of your son. He's one of a kind and has a bright future ahead of him." Coulson said as Harold looked at his son.

"Let's just hope it's one he's ready for." Harold replied as Coulson nodded.

Will finished reading his text messages and put his phone in his pocket. He saw his mother waiting by the car and his dad talking to agent Coulson. His dad finished his conversation when Fury walk out to talk to Coulson. Will then got a tingling sensation in the back of his head like at the Expo but this one was more intense. Something really bad was about to happen.

Will looked and saw 6 black SUV's stop across the street and 3 dozen men get out. All of them were wearing regular clothes but with large bulges in their jackets and coats. He saw three guys open up the trunks of the cars and take out grenade launchers.

"LOOK OUT!" Will shouted as ran and tackled him mom to the ground as the men fired three grenades and hit parked cars, causing large explosions, and sending people to the ground. The other men opened fire with assault rifles and light machine guns as innocent bystanders and agents were gunned down. The ones who were gunned down took cover and took out their pistols. Will covered his mom as bullets riddled the SUV they were hiding behind sending metal and glass all over them.

"DAD!" Will shouted as he looked up and saw his dad shooting back from behind one of the building's pillars.

"WILL, STAY DOWN!" His dad shouted as he loaded a fresh clip into his pistol.

"This is Agent Coulson, we have a code red! Immediate back up required! 3 dozen tangos, heavily armed! The Director is here! We need an extraction and containment unit immediately!" Coulson shouted into his ear comm as he fired two shots at one of the attackers, killing him.

People ran for their lives as nearby police men fired back, calling in backup. Soon, Agent Romanoff and a squad of heavily armed agents in tactical gear came out of the SHIELD building and began firing back, killing a few more of the attackers. The attackers responded by fired more grenades at the building, killing a few more agents and knocking people to the ground from the explosions one of whom was Agent Romanoff who was knocked back. One of the attackers loaded grey grenades into his launcher and fired them, releasing a thick cloud of smoke.

"WILL, RUN INSIDE NOW!" Coulson shouted as he fired his gun, covering them.

"Mom, stay with me, all right!" Will said as he stood up and they ran to the building.

"Target sighted. Take him out!" One of the attackers shouted as four men pulled out modified RPG's. They aimed and fired at the building where Will was going. Will got another tingling sensation, turned, and saw four rockets headed towards him. He acted quickly and raised his hands, making a telekinetic shield when he saw the rockets split apart into smaller pieces. They hit Will's shield, but the force was too much for him to handle and he was sent flying through the air and hit the side of the building.

Will fell to the ground like a sack of bricks and couldn't breathe. He groaned in pain as he felt like a car was sitting on his chest, struggling to get air into his lungs. He coughed his lungs up as he looked and saw his mom on the ground and his dad ran over to help her. His dad fired his gun at the attackers, grabbed Mary and they ran for cover when a bullet ripped through his chest where his heart was. Will saw blood fly through the air and hit the ground as his dad fell to his knees. Harold looked at his son, blood dripping from his mouth and smiled when another bullet hit him in the chest and he fell to the ground, dead. Will managed to push himself up on all fours when he saw his mom rush over to his dad when another bullet hit her in the chest and she fell down on top of him.

"NOO!" Will shouted as Coulson, Romanoff, and Fury saw Harold and Mary Detmer dead on the ground and Will reaching out to them.

Coulson and Romanoff tried to get to him, but the attackers got closer and fired at them, forcing them to stay behind cover. The attackers were nearing the entrance to the building, suppressing the SHIELD agents with heavy fire while one of the attackers walked forward and aimed his assault rifle at Will. He fired his entire magazine at him, but Will raised his hand and the bullets stopped mid-air. The mercenary fired until he heard a click and saw all his bullets froze in the air. Will looked up and his eyes were filled with a soul-searing rage as he glared at the man who shot at him.

"RAHH!" Will shouted as he thrust his hand out and the bullets fired back and riddled the man like he was swiss cheese. The other attackers all aimed their guns and fired at him as Will raised his hands up.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Will shouted as all the bullets they fired stopped mid-air in front of Will. Will's hands and eyes were glowing blue and the glow seemed to reflect his emotional state as they were flickering like a raging fire. Will's powers began to affect the area as glass windows from the nearby buildings shattered, rubble and metal from the ground began to float in the air and even the SHIELD building began to shake.

Coulson, Fury, and Romanoff couldn't believe what they were seeing as it was a full display at the sheer raw power that Will possessed. The attackers kept firing bullets until their ammo clips ran dry and they saw several hundred bullets floating in the air and not a single one hit. The bullets clinked on the ground harmlessly as Will reared his hands back.

"RAHHHH!" Will shouted as he flung his hands forward and all the attackers were sent flying through the air like you would see in the movies. The force that knocked them back was the equivalent of being hit by a speeding car as their chests caved in and some bones were broken. If the force didn't kill them, all of the attackers were sent into the walls of buildings or hit the ground with enough force to make cracks into solid cement or bricks.

Will dropped to his knees as his hands and eyes stopped glowing blue. Coulson, Fury, and Romanoff and the other SHIELD Agents got out from behind cover, seeing at it was over. Romanoff and Coulson ran over to check on the men who attacked them and they were all dead, death by massive trauma to the body. They saw their chests caved in, limbs broken, and necks snapped. Will really did a number on them.

Another tactical SHIELD squad exited the building and aimed their weapons at Will, ready to take him into custody or take him out. "Stand down!" Fury told them as they did and backed away.

Fury walked up and saw drops of water hit the ground below Will's face and he knew that Will was crying. Will crawled over to his parents' bodies, seeing the bullet wounds and he couldn't feel a pulse. Will broke down crying as he held his parent's bodies while SHIELD agents began to secure the area. Fury looked at the destruction that Will caused and realized that he could be the most powerful enhanced individual on the Index, but he also noted how he and the SHIELD Agents weren't harmed…Will protected them. His powers may make him dangerous, but above all Will's heart and head control them.

Line Break xxxxx

A week had passed since Will's parents death and Will took it hard. He blamed himself for not stopping the attack when he could have. With his powers, he could have ended it sooner and his parents would still be alive. The men who attacked Will at SHIELD were mercenaries, hired by someone to kill them. It was still up to debate as to who they were there to kill because Fury could have been the target, or it could have been someone who wanted Will dead. But they were pros, teeth were filed down, fingerprints removed, identities scrubbed, and all the weapons were untraceable, whoever was behind it did their homework.

He was currently back in New Jersey for his parents' funeral. With his dad being a police captain and former Air Force Captain, he was being buried with full honors. The cemetery was empty as police officers in full uniform lined the road where Harold and Mary's coffins would be driven down. Bag pipes played as a funeral car holding their coffins slowly drove down the road with saluting officers flanking them. The police commissioner, a priest, and Will walked ahead of the funeral car to the plots of land where they would be buried.

Flanking the funeral car were the officers from Harold's police station, followed by Will's aunts and uncles and then the men that Harold served with in the Air Force. They arrived at the plots of land as the coffins were moved and everyone took their seats. Flowers and beautiful arrangements were around as pictures of his parents were covered in white flowers. Will sat down in the first chair as his Uncle on his mom's side, Jeffrey Mace sat next to him. He was a Journalist for International Affairs, so he traveled a lot but whenever he was around, he was a good uncle to Will.

Next to Mace was Will's uncle on his dad's side, Stuart Detmer and his wife Lenore and their 18-year-old daughter Kim, Will's cousin. They sat down as the priest gave his sermon and blessed their souls and offered his condolences for Will and the family. Then 6 police officers held up the flag above Harold's coffin as 7 police officers did the 21-gun salute. A police officer then played the funeral tone on a trumpet as all the police officers saluted and the 6 officers folded the flag and handed it to Will. Everyone paid their respects to Harold and Mary and to Will as they made their way out of the cemetery to the funeral reception.

Will stayed behind in the cemetery as everyone, but his relatives had left. Will stared down at their graves as his uncle walked over.

"Will, we're heading to the reception." Jeffrey told him as Will nodded.

"You and Uncle Stuart go ahead. I want to stay here for a bit." Will told him as Jeffrey nodded. He hugged Will as Will hugged back, and Jeffrey, Stuart, Lenore, and Kim left the cemetery for the reception. Will stared at their graves before kneeling down, picking up a plot of dirt and standing back up. He kissed his hand dropped the dirt onto their graves.

Will looked at their graves as Tony and Rhodey walked over. "It was a beautiful service." Tony said, not wanting to say anything that would offend or come off as dick-ish with how Will was feeling. He knew from experience was he was going through.

"They shouldn't be dead in the first place. If I hadn't brought them, they'd still be alive." Will said as Rhodey and Tony looked at him.

"Will, you couldn't have known what would have happened." Rhodey told him.

"If I went by myself, they'd be at home safe instead of dead in the ground. Nothing you can say will change that." Will replied.

"As someone who knows what you're going through…." Tony said as he pat Will on the shoulder. "nothing you say now can change what happened. Don't torment yourself with guilt over this."

"I'm not." Will said as Rhodey and Tony looked at them. "I had a part to play in their deaths but so did the men and whoever ordered that attack. I accept what I did but now I make this promise on their graves. The man who ordered that attack…the man who sent them and killed my parents…hell will seem like vacation once I find him. And if I'm going to do that, I'm ready for what I need to do, Director Fury."

Tony and Rhodey were confused what Will said when they heard footsteps. They turned and saw Fury, Coulson, and Romanoff wearing funeral garb walk over. "Being a spy might not be the answer, Will." Rhodey told him.

"I never said that. When I asked my dad why he wanted to go into the police, he told me he felt it was his duty. He always told me that he spoke for the dead, once the wicked robbed them of their lives. It was a never-ending war and he knew he couldn't fix everything. The best he hoped for was that he could find a place to make his last stand." Will said as he tightened his fist. "His fight is over, and mine begins."

Will looked at Fury with determined eyes. "You said you wanted an Avenger…I'm in." Will told him as his life changed that moment.

 **End of Chapter 1**

 **Imagine William Detmer as Stephen Amell from Arrow. Currently, the body size of Amell in the season 1 flashbacks but with short hair like during the present episodes.**

 **The meteor is Primagen, and I'll leave it at that until it comes up later in the story.**

 **Cyclops' motorcycle from the X-men movies.**

 **I hoped you guys like the prologue/first chapter. This was really meant to just establish my OC Character to the MCU and his powers. For those who are familiar with Marvel Comics and know what Primagen is, then it'll come into play much later when the Agents of SHIELD arc starts. Also, Will's powers and genetic revelation will come into play much later in the story when he discovers someone who can tell him more about what he is.**

 **Next Chapter, Will's training as an Avengers and SHIELD special operation, tactics and defense agent begins. He'll learn to fight and discover how his new mental abilities can help him train but nothing beats real world experience. Although, that real world experience has its drawbacks.**

 **William Detmer**

 **Moniker=?**

 **Appearance:** Stephen Amell from Arrow, pre-island **.**

 **Casual Outfit:** dark blue or black sneakers, jeans, blue or black t-shirt and either a zip-up hoodie, jacket, or button up over.

 **Born:** September 8th, 1988-Currently 21

 **Notable talents:** Genius level intellect potential, self-defense military training from Harold Detmer, well-crafted knowledge and understanding of psychology, knowledge and experience with engineering both mechanical and electrical.

 **Personality:** Kind, caring, composed, attentive, intelligent, and driven. Can be a bit of a smart ass

When insulted, angered, or in a serious situation, focused and relentless. Considered dangerous and unforgiving in these types of situations.

 **Powers: (If in bold, capable of doing now)**

 **Telekinesis, the ability to impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other non-physical means: Power Level=Novice**

 **Binding-** _to keep an object/being from moving_

 **Levitation-** _to lift an object_

Orbital Field-to makes objects and energy orbit around user

 **Psionic Speed-** _to augment user's physical speed_

 **Psionic Strength-** _to augment user's physical strength_

Telekinetic Bullet Projection-projecting telekinetic energy as bullets

Telekinetic Choking-to strangle

 **Telekinetic Grip-** _To grasp an object firmly in place_

 **Telekinetic Maneuver-** _to alter an object's directional course_

 **Telekinetic Pull & Push-** _to pull or push objects away from user_

Molecular Manipulation-to manipulate matter at molecular level

Telekinetic Aura/Sense-To sense one's surroundings with telekinesis

 **Telekinetic Compression-** _to crush an object_

Telekinetic Blast **-** to emit telekinetic energy as a blast

Telekinetic Destruction-to make an object explode

Telekinetic Flight-using telekinesis to fly

Psionic Explosion-to create/discharge psychic energy across a wide range

 **Telepathy, mentally receive or transmit information: Power Level=Novice**

 **Mind Reading** - _ability to read the thoughts of others_

Memory Reading-the ability to read the target's memories

Psychic Communication-the ability to secretly converse with others

Telepathic Speaking-to speak aloud using the mind

Download-the ability to process/download information through mind

Knowledge Replication-the ability to replicated learned knowledge and skills

Knowledge Projection-the ability to project knowledge to another

 **Rapid brain activity** - _the ability to process and understand information at incredible rates_

Mental Inducement-The ability to temporarily put the targets mind into the wanted state

Mental Hallucination-the ability to cause mental hallucinations

Mind Link-the ability to develop a permanent mental bond with any person

Mind Walking/Melding-to enter another's consciousness

 **Precognition awareness-** _six sense awareness of imminent danger_

Telepathic Prediction-the ability to know a person's moves by reading their brain waves

Astral Projection-to separate one's mind from their body and explore physical plane

Telepathic Surgery-the ability to perform neuropsychic surgery, healing and/or damaging the mind

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHIELD or any Marvel Properties, they belong to their respective owners, I'm just a fan.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is Chapter 2. I wrote this as I was working on Chapter 1 of the Perfect One and I needed to edit this one a little more before posting it. I posted the first chapter along with the other first chapters of my OC stories because they were already done. The next one will take some time.**

 **W** **ill's journey continues as he begins his training as a SHIELD special operation, tactics and defense agent. He begins to transform his body and his mind into one of the most valuable weapons for SHIELD and for the world, but training is nothing next to real world experience and Will get's this chance. But it's not how you'd think it would happen. Enjoy!**

 **The Perfect One: Real World Experience**

 **New York City, New York: 2011**

9 months have passed since Will's parents were killed and Will decided to agree to Fury's Avenger Initiative. After the funeral, William agreed to train with SHIELD specialists and trainers in order for him to learn how to defend himself and master his powers. His powers were logged in the Index, SHIELD's registry of people with powers but he was a special case. His genetic origins were kept under Level 10 clearance and he was under the supervision of Coulson, Romanoff, Barton, or Hill depending on who was available. Fury kept Will very close to the chest seeing how powerful he was and knew he could be the turning tide for the battles to come.

Along with training, William was assigned to see a therapist twice a week when he agreed to train with SHIELD. It was to keep Will mentally sane and was standard protocol for Index evaluation. Will was reluctant at first, but he began to realize the more he fought it the more it would interfere with his training, so he took it seriously and it helped with his trauma. Since Will was training with SHIELD, he was a part-time student to finish his college degree as he knew his mom would have wanted him to…and his relatives urged him not to drop out. Luckily, Tony pulled some strings and Will managed to graduate after the first semester, so he was done by December.

Speaking of Tony, he offered to give Will a job at his developing Stark Tower and work with him, but Will was already set on his path. Instead, Tony offered financial and technical coverage, so Will could live at home with no issue and develop him new gears and weapons if he needed it. The last time Will spoke to Tony was about a month ago and he said he was working on some kind of specialized body armor and gadgets for Will. Rhodey checked in with Will every now and then, wanting to make sure the kid was ok and so did Will's uncles. They were concerned, and his uncle Stuart even offered Will to live with them Brooklyn, but Will declined. He was financially set, and he couldn't tell them he was working for SHIELD, so he wanted to lessen the lies he'd had to tell them.

It was May of 2011 and Will had learned a lot since he started training with SHIELD. Coulson told him that there was a chance that Will wouldn't just be an Avenger but a SHIELD Agent if he wanted it. Not a regular agent since Will's special powers and abilities made him unique so it would be as a Special Operations, Tactics, and Defense agent. Essentially, William would be assigned to missions as a tactical assault or defense force depending on the circumstances and if the missions were of an enhanced or 0-8-4 variety, then he would be assigned as the main force. But that's if Director Fury authorized Will as that kind of agent.

Will had learnt and perfected several types of martial arts, self defense techniques, and weapon skills under Romanoff, Coulson, Hill, and Barton's training due to his rapid brain activity and two new telepathic ability he learned. Will called it _Knowledge Replication_ as he was able to learn the skills and knowledge of someone via a quick mental download like when he accidently used it on Barton and became an expert archer and marksman with a simple mind read. Will and Barton were sparring when it happened, and Will tried reading Barton's mind to predict how'd he fights and that's when he accidently scanned Barton's brain and accessed all of his stored motor skills. It's also where Will picked up _Telepathic Prediction_ as he was able to then predict Barton's moves with a mind scan.

When Will explained to Director Fury that he wasn't just telekinetic but also telepathic, concerned was an understatement. Will then went through all these tests to figure out his telepathic powers strengths and limitations and after a solid month of testing, Will could read someone's mind but only if that person was within a 500ft radius of him. And even if they were within his radius, he had to concentrate. It wasn't automatic, like he would walk by a person and read their thoughts. He needed to focus on the person to read their thoughts and even if he concentrated he could only read what the person was thinking at the moment. He could read the target's memories or their deep thoughts but if he concentrated too much, the target would get a serious headache.

Will trained his telepathy and telekinesis and while his telepathy wasn't that strong, his telekinesis was his ace in the hole. He was able to lift, move, and catch objects with ease just by thinking it but he still used his hands because it helped him to focus on the object. He could stop bullets from a machine gun while shielding himself from a surprise sniper from behind. The only issue was with heavy items. The heaviest he could lift without any strain on his powers was a heavily armored tactical assault truck, any more and the mental strain increased, and the nose bleeds started. But his powers only continued to grow.

Currently, William was at home waking up from a good night's sleep. Will had intense combat training against Barton and Romanoff who were then going on an assignment for a few weeks, so he'd be training at the SHIELD Facility in New York by himself until told otherwise. Will took a shower, got dressed in a dark blue button-up and jeans and went into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Will was reading an article in the newspaper about Stark Tower while using his powers to make an omelet. He turned the page to see an article Jeffrey Mace wrote about the UN's response to growing military tensions in Africa when his phone rang. He picked it up to see it was his Uncle Stuart.

"Hey, Uncle Stuart." Will said as his omelet was plated and floated over to him.

" _Hey, Will. What are you doing?"_ He asked.

"Just reading the paper, making an omelet. What are you doing?" Will asked.

" _Getting ready to take Kim dress shopping for her graduation. You still think you'll make it Thursday?"_ Stuart asked.

"Yeah, I think I can. Hard to believe that she's graduating high school." Will said as he heard his uncle chuckle.

" _Yeah, they grow up so fast. Soon, she'll be on her own but…Lenore and I want to hold on as long as we can."_ He said as Will smiled. He looked at an old family picture from a barbeque when both his uncles came. Those were good times. _"You ok, Will? How are you doing? I know it's been a while but are you ok?"_

"Yeah." Will said as he cleared his throat and wiped a stray tear from his eye. "I'm getting better. I'm keeping busy and I'm seeing a therapist to…help me with the whole grieving process. So, don't worry. Jeffrey called a week ago asking about me. I'm doing fine."

" _Good. I'm glad. Will, can you do me a favor?"_ Stuart asked.

"Sure, what's up?" Will asked.

" _Kim and her friend Katie are leaving for Paris Saturday after her graduation. They're planning to follow U2's European tour. Katie got it for a graduation gift."_ Stuart told him as Will whistled.

"Wow, some graduation gift." Will stated.

" _Yeah. But Lenore and I will be busy all Friday and Saturday with the Stark fundraiser event and we don't want Kim taking a cab. Do you think you could give her and Katie a ride to JFK?"_ Stuart asked.

"Yeah, no problem. I'd be happy to." Will said as he wrote down a note about the car ride.

" _Great, thanks Will. We'll see you Thursday."_ Stuart said.

"See you then." Will replied as he hung up and ate his breakfast.

Will attended his cousin's graduation and was happy for her. They went out for a celebratory dinner before she went to a party with her friends. On Saturday, William got in his dad's truck and drove to pick up Katie and Kim in Brooklyn to take them to JFK.

It was early in the morning and Katie was asleep in the back seat while Kim was sipping some coffee in the passenger seat while Will drove. "How much longer till we get there?" Kim asked.

"We'll be there in 20 minutes. Relax. It's not like U2 is going anywhere." Will said as Kim looked at him.

"Actually, they're going all over Europe, hence the European tour." Kim joked.

"You know what I meant. Speaking of which, a friend of mine who spent some time with Interpol in Paris gave me a list of places you should avoid. Here." Will said as he handed her a folded piece of paper.

"This is ridiculous. Katie and I are going to spending out time at Museums or the concert." Kim told him as Will chuckled.

"Yeah, right. You do a better job at lying to your parents than to me." Will replied.

"All right, Mr. Lie Detector. Who is this friend with Interpol?" Kim asked.

"He's not with Interpol, he worked with them for a while. And he's right, Kim. Your heading to college in the fall and now you're heading to Europe. It's a dangerous world out there." Will said.

"And Brooklyn isn't?" Kim asked.

"The Brooklyn where you live is fine. The world's a dangerous place. I'm just trying to make sure you stay safe." He told her.

"And I appreciate that, but the odds of bad things happening to me are like one in a million. Besides, I'll have Katie with me the whole time and I've got my phone." Kim said.

"It'd be better if you had pepper spray with you. I'm surprised your parents are ok with this whole thing anyway." Will said.

"Katie told me that we're staying with her cousin's in Paris and they'll be with us for the entire tour. I'll be fine." Kim said as Will nodded.

"All right." Will said as they stay silent for a bit. "Think you can get me a souvenir?"

"T-shirt or hoodie?" Kim asked.

"Hoodie, definitely hoodie." Will told her as he took the ramp to JFK.

Kim woke up Katie as Will stopped at Departures. They got out of the car as Will grabbed their bags. "Here. Enjoy the trip! And give me a call just so I know you got their safe!" Will told her.

"Relax, Will. Jeez, when did you get overprotective all of a sudden." Kim told him.

"Always. But this time I'm serious, stay safe!" Will said as Kim and Katie waved goodbye and went into the terminal.

After Will dropped off his cousin, he went home to change and rode his dad's motorcycle to the SHIELD facility in New York to train with Coulson. He was back from wherever he went to, so Will got some more training with him. They were in a private training room on a battle mat. Coulson was wearing workout clothes while Will was wearing shorts and a tank top.

Coulson threw out several punches and kicks that Will blocked and dodged with ease. Will then threw out several punches of his own that Coulson managed to block but Will then grappled his arm and threw him over his shoulder and sent them both to the ground. He then put Coulson in an arm bar hold as Coulson managed to get free and got on top of Will and threw out several punches. Will covered his face as he kneed Coulson in the back and knocked him off. Will flipped back to his feet as Coulson threw out a kick that Will grabbed. But Coulson then used his free leg and kicked Will in the chest and knocked him on his back. Will rolled to the side and got back to his feet as he charged forward and threw out several punches that Coulson managed to block but one hit him across the jaw.

Will got close, grabbed him by the back of the neck and tried to knee him but Coulson grabbed his knee, picked him up and slammed him on to the ground. Coulson then put his knee on Will's left arm and raised his hand up, ready to punch him.

"Submit." Coulson said.

"Not gonna happen." Will said as raised his leg and caught Coulson's arm and rolled them to the side.

"You're getting better. It seems all the training is paying off." Coulson said as he stood up.

"Yeah, no kidding." Will said as Coulson held his hand out and helped him up. "You're still pretty spry for a man of your age."

"A man of my age. That's what you say to an old person." Coulson replied.

"You said it not me." Will said as he walked over to his bag and grabbed a towel and his water bottle.

"You're progressing at a tremendous rate. No other operations agent progressed this far in combat and mental training." Coulson said as he wiped his face with his towel. "I think you're giving Barton and Romanoff a run for their money."

"Well, it's easy when I can download years of skill and knowledge in matter of moments. Although, it still taking some time to get it set in muscle memory." Will said as he rubbed his shoulder.

"What about the skills that don't require physical muscles?" Coulson asked.

"Oh, those are the easiest. I'm fluent in over 30 languages, know detailed anatomy and medical skills, and I know how a KGB and a SHIELD spy thinks." Will said as he phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was Kim. "It's my cousin. She's in Paris for U2's European Tour."

"I caught their show in California once. Worth the trip." Coulson said as Will chuckled and answered the phone.

"Hey, Kim. Glad you made it their safe." Will said.

" _Yeah, I needed to use the bathroom and Katie is blaring music."_ Kim said.

"So, how are her cousins? You guys getting along?" Will asked as he heard Katie sigh and hesitate. "Kim?"

" _Her cousins aren't here. They're in Spain, I just found out."_ She told him as Will sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"Spain? How is that possible? I thought you said Katie had her cousins there and they would be with you for the entire tour?" Will asked as Coulson saw how concerned and frustrated Will was.

" _I know. Katie just told me, she must have planned the whole thing."_ Kim said as Will exhaled. _"Are you gonna tell my parents?"_

"Well, I kind of have to Kim. I can't just ignore this. Your parents agreed to this whole thing because you told them you and Katie wouldn't be alone. Is there anything else I should know before I suffer a migraine? Like is Katie is having you move there?" Will asked as he didn't hear Kim answer for a few seconds. "Kim?"

" _There's someone here."_ Kim said as Will raised an eyebrow.

"Her cousins are back?" Will asked.

" _No."_ Kim replied, scared as Will then heard a faint scream. _"Oh my god, they got Katie!"_

"Who? Kim, what's going on?" Will asked as Coulson looked at him.

" _They're…they're taking her!"_ Kim screamed, panicked and afraid as Will quickly pressed the record button.

"Coulson, I need a track!" Will said as Coulson nodded and began making a call while he put Kim on speaker. "Kim, I have my friend I told you worked with Interpol. Listen to me very carefully, I need to know everything. Did you meet anyone on the plane?"

" _No."_ She replied.

"At the airport?" Will asked.

" _No. Wait, yes. Peter."_ She told him.

"Ok, Peter who? Is he American? Did he know where you were staying?" Will asked.

" _He took a cab with us."_ Katie told him.

"Kim, this is Phil, I'm Will's friend. I'm contacting my Interpol contacts in Paris as well the Paris Police, they're tracking your phone. I need you stay on as long as you can. Tell me, how many people are there?" Coulson asked.

" _Three, four."_ Katie said.

"What do they look like?" Will asked.

" _Tall, wearing dark clothes. Some have tattoos. They're looking for me."_ Katie said, panicked.

"Ok, Kim. Where are you right now?" Will asked.

" _I'm uh…I'm in the bathroom."_ Katie said.

"Can you make it to the exit?" Will asked.

" _No. I'm on the other side of the apartment_." Katie said as Coulson shook his head no. She'd never get out and the Interpol or Paris Police won't get there in time.

"Ok, Kim, listen to my voice very carefully. I need you to make it to the next bedroom, make as little noise as possible and get under the bed." Will said as Katie did.

" _Ok, I'm here."_ Kim whispered.

"Now, the next part is important Kim." Coulson said as he sighed. "They're going to take you."

Will's heart broke as he heard Kim cry. "Listen to me, Kim. I'm coming to Paris and I will come get you, but I need your help. This is key. Once they find you, you'll have maybe 5 seconds before they knock you unconscious. Leave the phone on the floor and shout out everything you see about them. Hair color, eye color, short, tall, scars and tattoos, I need everything you can tell me. I promise, I will come for you." Will told her as he heard footsteps and a creaking floor board.

"They're coming, I hear them. Place the phone on the floor and get ready." Will said he heard them enter the room. He heard them speak in Albanian, men probably mid-30s and the name Marco kept coming up. They were looking for the girl and he ordered two of his men to leave.

" _They're leaving. I think they're—AAAAAAAAHHHH!"_ Will heard Kim shout followed by struggling. _"6 FT! CRESCENT MOON AND STAR TATTOO!"_ Kim shouted before he heard them take her away.

Will exhaled in anger and frustration as he then heard someone pick up the phone. "Listen to me now, you son of a bitch. I don't care who you are but let this be your only warning. If your looking for ransom, you're not getting a single dime or whatever you use where you come from. If you let my cousin go now, I promise you no harm will come to you. If you don't, I swear on god's green earth, I will look for you, I will find you…and I will destroy you and everyone who helped you." Will warned him.

" _Good luck."_ He heard a man say when the phone was turned off.

Will put his phone down and tightened his fist. "Coulson, I want everything from that call analyzed as soon as you can. I need to know who took her." Will told him.

"Already working on it." Coulson said as Will walked over and put his shoes and hoodie on.

"Where are you going?" Coulson asked.

"My aunt and uncle are at a fundraising event for Tony, I'll need to talk to them both." Will said as he grabbed his stuff and left on his motorcycle.

Will raced through the city, passing every single red light on his way to the Marriot Marquis by Time Square where the event was being held. Will rode in like a bat out of hell and drifted to a stop by the entrance. The Hotel Staff and guests witnessed a young man drift into the valet parking lane. Will took off his helmet and tossed it to the nearby hotel employee.

"Keep it close." Will said as he walked in and went to the ballroom where the fundraiser event was being held.

He walked in and saw almost 200 hundred guests and VIPs in fancy tuxedos and dressed while Will looked out of place in a hoodie, shorts, and sneakers. They people at the fundraisers looked at him funny, wondering how he got in but he didn't care. He looked around, but it was a sea of people. So, he decided to use his powers.

Will closed his eyes and stretched out his telepathy, listening to the thoughts of everyone in the room and he shut out people one by one until he heard his aunt, uncle, or Tony. He then finally got a ping on Tony, sitting at a table speaking to his assistant Pepper. He walked over and saw Tony in a snazzy tuxedo and Pepper in a lovely blue dress.

"Tony!" Will said as Tony looked and was shocked to see him here.

"Hey, kid. Here for the Hors d'oeuvers." Tony said as he looked at Will's state of dress. "You're a little too casual."

"No, Tony I need to know where my Aunt and Uncle are. It's an emergency." Will told him, in a serious tone as Tony could tell he was serious.

"Yeah, they're talking to some investors last I checked. Over there. What's wrong?" Tony asked.

"My cousin's been kidnapped." Will said as he pushed past some guest to talk to them as Tony and Pepper got up to follow them. Will pushed past two people and saw his aunt and uncle talking to a group. "Uncle Stuart!"

"Will, what are you doing here?" Stuart asked.

"We need to talk, now. It's an emergency." Will told him.

"There's a private dining room over there." Pepper told them as they left the banquet hall to the dinner room which only had some of the hotel guests cleaning up.

"Take five." Tony said as everyone left.

"Will, what's going on?" Lenore asked.

"Kim was taken. Uncle, do you have any enemies overseas? I know about the bad oil deal a year ago. Has anyone ever threatened you or your family?" Will asked.

"What are you talking about?" Stuart asked, like Will was crazy.

"Uncle, this is important! Do you have any enemies?!" Will shouted.

"No, ok! What's going on?!" Stuart replied.

"I got a call from Kim 30 minutes. There were people in the apartment, and then she was taken." Will told them.

"Oh my god." Lenore said as she covered her mouth as Stuart was in shock.

"I need the contact information for Katie's parents. I need everything you can give me." Will told them as Stuart handed him his Blackberry which held all the information as Will began sending it to his phone. "And there's something else? Do you still have the lease with the private airline that took you to the Bahamas?"

"Yes." Stuart said.

"I need a flight to Paris." Will told him.

"For when?" Stuart asked.

"Half an hour ago." Will said as Stuart nodded but Tony pulled out his phone.

"Don't bother, I'll take care of it." Tony said as he called Happy. "Happy, I need the private plane, fueled up and ready to go in 30 minutes at JFK for non-stop to Paris. And bring the special gear for Detmer, he's gonna need it."

"What do we do?" Lenore asked, tears in her eyes.

"I'm getting her back." Will said as his phone rang and he saw it was Coulson, so he answered it and put it on speaker. "Coulson, tell me you have good news."

" _Based on the dialect and accent from the recording, our analysts deduced that they must come from a town called Tropoja in Albania. The place is ground zero for criminals like this, very dangerous. Even the Russians avoid them. The one you spoke to is Marco. Our SHIELD data shows that a mobster boss by the name of Marco Hoxha moved to Paris about six months ago. If he's the one, he's very dangerous and very high up. And the tattoo that Kim told us about is a group ID."_ Coulson said. _"Are you alone?"_

"Her parents are with me. They need to hear this." Will told him as Coulson exhaled.

 _The specialty of the groups coming out of this area is…trafficking women."_ Coulson said as Lenore and Stuart felt their hearts crack. _"Their previous MO was to offer women from developing Eastern European countries like Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, jobs in the west as maids and nannies. Once they smuggled them in, they'd addict them to drugs and turn them into prostitutes. Lately, however they decided that's its more economical just to kidnap traveling young women. Saves on transportation cost."_

"Not my baby." Lenore said as she cried, and Stuart held her close.

"What else?" Will asked.

" _Based on what our analysts know how these groups operated, they theorize that you have a 96-hour window from the time she was grabbed."_ Coulson said.

"Until what?" Will asked.

" _To never finding her again."_ Coulson said as Lenore broke down crying. _"Will, I know how you must be feeling. Let me call Interpol, they can handle this."_

"I'm sorry, Coulson. I can't do that. I'm getting my family back. And I'm taking out anyone who gets in my way." Will said as he shut off his phone and made his way to JFK.

Line Break xxxxx

Will got on Tony's private jet and flew to Paris in about 6 hours. Tony had Happy go with him as backup, Will would have refused but he didn't want to waste anymore time. Once they got there, they quickly made their way to the hotel Tony had set Will up in. Will needed to change and get ready. Happy brought along two metal briefcases and told Will that they were gifts for him that Tony made for when he was in the field.

In one of the cases was a specialized gun and gadgets that Tony made for Will when things get messy and violent. It was a modified Heckler & Koch P30L handgun with a recon custom grip, flared magazine release, specialized slide stop, tactical iron sight, and easy loading port along with a custom compensator that absorbed the recoil of the shot. Overall, it was the perfect gun for anyone. Will looked it over and it seemed nice, elegant, and the parts looked much sturdier than a typical gun. Will checked it over, made sure everything was ok and loaded it with a clip of 15 _9x19_ mm parabellum bullets. The gun came with several dozen clips with regular hollow point ammunition and specialized attachment darts like knock-out, explosive or radio surveillance. **(1)**

Also, in the case was a shoulder holster for his gun that could be hidden by a jacket. And there were several little electronic goodies in the case like electronic lock pickers, high-tech and concealed radio surveillance and communication equipment, tactical bombs like explosive, smoke or flashbang, specialized goggles with various modes of vision and zoom as well as a new untraceable and encrypted phone and hacking equipment. Along with some medical stuff in case something bad happened.

In the other case was Will's new tactical clothes that Tony made him. They were new combat boots with a special slot in the right boot for a shoe knife and a holster in the left boot for another concealed knife or pistol clip. Black combat pants that were form fitting, sturdy and comfortable and to top of it, was a new tactical jacket. It was lined with a thin Kevlar/carbon polymer weave, so it could withstand bullets and keep him safe. It was blue but had a black turtle neck/collar area, white accent lines from his elbows to the back of his shoulders, along his waist and around the front. It had two buttons on the front by his heart because it was an asymmetrical button-zip up jacket, so the buttons weren't down the middle but by the side. The jacket was nice and light, and it covered his gun holster yet the opening in the jacket was in the perfect spot for him to reach it with his right hand. **(2)**

Will got suited up with his gun and new jacket and was ready to find his cousin. "Happy, I appreciate you coming but you should just stay here." Will said.

"With all do respect, Will. Tony told me to help you and I'm more than happy to." Happy told him.

"Happy, this isn't like protecting Tony from the paparazzi, I'm dealing with serious criminals and it will get ugly. I can't deal with them when I'm worrying about you." Will told him.

"I'll be fine. So, where to first, sir?" Happy asked as Will didn't want to waste time arguing.

"The apartment where Kim and her friend were staying, there first." Will said as Happy drove them to the address. They parked outside and walked up to the building. Will tried to open the door, but it was locked without a key.

Will held his hand to the door, using his telekinesis to work the tumblers. Happy heard the clicks and clacks of the door nob's tumblers and in a second, it was unlocked. Will opened the door and they walked up the stairs to the apartment. Will walked in and saw several pieces of furniture tipped over, probably from the struggle along with Katie and Kim's luggage. Will looked at the luggage and he began running situations in his head as to exactly how this happened.

"Will, you ok?" Happy asked.

"I'm fine." Will said as he stood up and walked around the apartment. He found the bathroom where Kim called him and then found the bed room where she hid. He saw a broken mirror with pieces of black hair in it, probably from when they hit it. He looked around and saw Kim's phone on the floor, smashed to pieces. He picked it up and managed to find the SD card in tack.

"Happy, you bring a computer?" Will asked.

"Yeah." Happy replied.

They got in the car and Happy put the SD card in the computer, bringing the phones information and pictures. Will began scouring the picture library for another clue, seeing pictures that Kim and Katie took at the airport on the plane and when they landed. Will stopped on the newest photo of Kim and Katie posing in front of a sign at the airport and saw something in the reflection. He zoomed in and adjusted the placement to se a reflection of a man. Peter.

"Got you, you son of a bitch." Will said. "Happy, airport."

"Right." Happy said as he drove them there. Will took out his gun and loaded it, getting it ready should he need it and took out the communication devices Tony packed. He took out two ear pieces that would allow him and Happy to talk. Happy stopped at the airport arrival section. If this guy was praying on women traveling to Paris, he'd scope them out here.

"Happy, take this and wait here. You're not going to want to see what I do to him." Will said as he handed him an earpiece. Will synchronized his earpiece to Happy's and got out of the car and entered the arrival lounge. He looked around at arrival lounge but there were probably hundreds of people here and he was looking for one guy.

" _Testing. Will, do you read me?"_ Happy asked over the comms.

"I read you. If this guy is scoping out women for Marco's operation, then he'd be here." Will said as he walked around, trying to find the guy.

" _Are you sure about this? I mean the guy could have just been someone they asked to take the picture?"_ Happy asked.

"Maybe, but it's the only lead I got. Kim told me they shared a cab with someone to the apartment. If this Peter is the guy, he tipped off Marco's men and he'll lead me to them." Will said as he saw someone who looked like the guy in the reflection. Will looked and saw the guy didn't have any kind of backpack or luggage and was just watching the arrival area. "I think I found him. He's wearing the exact same clothes as in the reflection. And he doesn't have a single bag."

" _That is a red flag_." Happy replied as he saw the guy glance to someone else. An African American guy, with no bags and he nodded to him, looking at a pretty blonde who just arrived.

"It's him." Will said as he saw the guy follow the girl to the taxi area. "Happy, head to the taxi dispatch."

" _On my way."_ Will said as he followed the guy outside and saw him talking to the blonde and overheard him say his name was Peter. Gotcha.

Peter opened the cab door, so Will acted. "Excuse me!" Will said as he grabbed Peter and shoved him in the cab and closed the door. He locked Peter's arms across his body and delivered a bone cracking punch to his side.

"AH!" Peter shouted.

"Hey!" The cabby shouted.

"Drive!" Will shouted as he punched Peter again in the same spot. "The two American girls from yesterday, where are they?!"

"I don't know!" Peter shouted as Will punched him in the stomach twice.

"The next one breaks a rib! Where are they?!" Will shouted as the taxi door opened and someone grabbed his leg and dragged him out.

Will hit the ground as he turned on his back and saw it was the African American guy who nodded to Peter. Will kicked him in the face and then kicked out his leg. Will got back to his feet as the guy tackled him against the taxi. He threw out a punch that Will parried. Will punched him in the gut, blocked another punch, then punched him in the throat and slammed him head first into the taxi making a loud crack sound as the guy dropped to the ground dead.

Will turned and saw Peter running on the exit ramp, so Will jumped over the car and chased after him. He channeled his powers around his body and took off running after him. Peter ran like his life depended on it, but Will was gaining fast, running about the speed of a 40-mph car. Peter jumped over a divider and maneuvered through a line of cars as Will chased him. Peter saw a parked truck on the lane below, so he jumped and landed on the truck. He jumped onto the ground, looking up at Will and was run over by a speeding truck.

"Shit!" Will said as he punched and dented the metal railing of the divider. Will exhaled in frustration as he heard police sirens getting closer. "Happy, I need a pickup."

Will left the airport, his only lead in finding his cousin and her friend dead. He needed more information on the Albanian run trafficking in a city of millions and he had no contacts. He needed help or at least a lead. Luckily for him, he had a few friends who ran missions in Paris and had contacts.

Will took out his phone and called Barton. Coulson would probably tell him to come in and he couldn't do that. _"Barton."_ Barton greeted.

"Clint, it's me Will. I need a favor. I'm in Paris and I need help tracking down an Albanian Human Trafficking ring. My only lead is dead. Do you have a contact with the local police or something that can give me a lead?" Will asked as Barton sighed.

" _Yeah, I do. Look, Will I don't know what you're doing in Paris, but I don't think you're ready for a mission yet."_ Barton told him.

"Clint…they took my cousin. I'm not leaving Paris without my family." Will told him as he didn't hear Barton respond.

" _I'll give you his number and set up a meet."_ Barton said.

"Thanks." Will said as he wrote down the number for Jean-Claude Pitrel, a Director at Internal Security for the Paris Police.

In an hour, Will and Happy waited at a local café for Jean-Claude to leave so they could speak. Will sipped some coffee when he saw Jean-Claude walk out of the café and down the street.

"Get to the car. It is best that he didn't know you were here." Will said as Happy nodded.

Will followed him and they both stopped at a crosswalk. "Jean-Claude, I believe Mr. Barton told you about me?" Will asked.

"Briefly." Jean-Claude said as he looked at Will. "You're quite young."

"Intelligence agencies recruit right out of college these days. Thanks for coming." Will said.

"I came as a courtesy to Mr. Barton. He saved my life and I owe him a debt. So, might I ask why an old friend from my active days required me to meet you?" Jean-Claude asked.

"My cousin and her friend were kidnapped in Paris yesterday. She and her friend were marked by a spotter at the airport. The Albanians took her." Will told him as Jean-Claude froze for a sec.

"How do you know this?" Jean-Claude asked.

"I have some very resourceful friends." Will replied.

"And I assume by me being here that you don't want to go to the police?" Jean-Claude asked.

"I have 96 hours before she's gone for good. That was 16 hours ago, I'm running out of time." Will told him.

"Ok, first we should find the spotter." Jean-Claude said.

"I found him. He's dead." Will said as Jean-Claude looked at him.

"You found him that way?" Jean-Claude asked.

"No. He got hit by a truck. Very messy." Will said.

"I'm sure. William, listen, you cannot go around Paris doing whatever you want in the hopes of getting a lead." Jean-Claude told him.

"I will do whatever it takes to find them, even if I have to tear down the Eiffel Tower. I'm not losing anymore family." Will snapped at him.

"And I will help you however I can." Jean-Claude said as he handed him his business card.

"Deputy Director of Internal Security Operations, impressive. Now the Albanians?" Will asked.

"They showed up from the east, 6-7 years ago. 15-20 of them. Now we don't even know how many of them there are. They're dangerous." Jean-Claude told him.

"I know. Where can I find them?" Will asked.

"The best place is downtown, Pigalle. The Red Light District." Jean-Claude said as Will nodded and walked away. "Try to stay out of trouble!"

Will and Happy made their way to the Red-Light District and as soon as the sun went down, the district came alive with prostitutes and men looking for a good time. Will and Happy sat in the car and saw that there were probably dozens of pimps or men in charge of brothels. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"This is going to be hard to find the Albanians here. There must be hundreds of people and if they find out your sniffing around, they'll take off before you get a chance to find your cousin." Happy told him.

"I know. That's why I won't be asking around." Will said as he closed his eyes and concentrated. He stretched out his telepathy and began listening to the thoughts of everyone within a 500ft radius of the car. He mentally sorted through people who weren't important until he would hear something in Albanian.

"What are you doing?" Happy asked.

"Using my telepathy to read the minds of everyone in the area. If he's with the Albanian Trafficking group, he'll be thinking Albanian. It'll make it easier." Will said as he continued to concentrate.

Will sat in the passenger seat, scanning the area with his telepathy when he stopped on one man who was thinking Albanian. He was thinking about new merchandise that was giving people some trouble. "Got him." Will said as he looked down the street and saw the guy sitting in a silver Mercedes. "The Silver Mercedes. That's him. He was thinking about new merchandise that was giving their organization trouble."

Will then opened the door and stepped out. "What are you going to do?" Happy asked, opening the window.

"Ask nicely." Will replied as he walked down the street and spotted a prostitute hanging by the Silver Mercedes. He had a plan.

Happy watched as Will spoke to the woman and had a conversation and eventually, it caused the guy to come out. He didn't look happy and slapped her across the head.

"Why are you bothering the girl?" He asked Will.

"It's none of your business." Will replied.

"She is my business. And if you're not spending money, you're costing me money." Will told him as he backed up to the side of building near an empty alley.

"I'm sorry. I think there's been some kind of confusion. I didn't want her." Will told him as the guy looked confused. "I just needed to get your attention."

"Get the hell out of here before I kick your ass." He said as he pushed Will back, but Will grabbed his hand and twisted it, breaking his wrist. "ARH!"

"I need information." Will whispered to him as he violently grabbed him and threw him into the alley. He hit the floor like a sack of bricks as Will picked him up, kneed him in the gut hard causing him to throw up.

The second guy in the Mercedes got out and ran to kill Will but Will waved his hand and he flew into a wall and was knocked out. Will grabbed the guy off the floor and slammed him against the building in the alley, holding him up by his throat.

"Two American girls were kidnapped by Marco Hoxha, head of your little Albanian trafficking ring. I want to know where they are!" Will told him as the guy gasped for breath.

"I don't know…what you're…saying." He managed to say as Will glared at him.

"I'm not in the mood for your lies. One of the girls is my family. Tell me where they are!" Will shouted.

"I…don't k-know." He said as Will decided to test his telepathy.

"You know something, and I need to know what you know. This may hurt." Will said as he closed his eyes and concentrated. Immediately the guy Will was interrogating stopped moving as his eyes rolled back into his skull because his brain felt like it was being dissected. Will was using his telepathy and was forcibly scanning and taking all the information that he needed from the guy's brain. Will never tried it before, but it was the time for a shot in the dark and it was working. After a few seconds, William dropped the guy and stepped back, rubbing his head from a little headache.

Will looked and saw the guy wasn't moving and there was blood flowing from his nose. Will knelt down and checked his pulse to see there was a faint one, but he suffered a stroke. "You picked the wrong line of work." Will told him as he walked out of the alley and back to Happy's car and got in the passenger seat.

"Did he give you anything?" Happy asked.

"Not much. He's a low-level guy but he gave us another lead. Apparently, the Albanians run a makeshift brothel at a construction yard and their newest… _acquisitions_ are sent there. If Marco has them, there's a chance that's where they are." Will told him as Happy nodded. "This time, Happy. You stay back. It's not up for debate."

Happy looked at Will and saw how serious he was and nodded. "How are you going to get there?" Happy asked as Will looked at the now empty Mercedes.

"I got it covered." Will said as he got out and took the Mercedes to the construction yard.

Will drove out of the city to the construction yard he got from the mental download from the Albanian pimp. Will parked his car and walked through the construction yard until he came to the makeshift brothel the Albanians set up. Will looked around and saw that there were some Albanians in an adjacent construction office space and by the lumps in their waistbands or jackets, they were packing guns. Will saw a line of men outside the brothel, so Will got in line and played the part of just someone looking for a good time. Will used his telepathy to scan the area, but he couldn't pick up Kim or Katie's thoughts. The line kept moving when Will got to the front, so Will handed him some money and he gave Will a slip of paper with the number 5 on it and opened the door. Will walked in and saw two rows of tarp and blanket covered areas, each with numbers on them.

Will walked down the row and stopped at his section. He moved the tarp and to his horror, he saw a drugged-up girl lying on a makeshift bed of blankets and pillows. She looked like hell and once she saw him, she motioned him to come in. Will looked at her arm and he saw several needle marks. Will then checked every single little numbered section for Kim or Katie, but they weren't there. He opened number 6 and saw a guy hugging the girl from behind, kissing her neck. Will was about to shut the tarp when he saw a denim jacket on a chair. Will got a second look and saw it read _Doll Face_ …it was the jacket Kim wore when he dropped her off at the airport. The exact one she was wearing.

Will then grabbed the guy off her and punched him in the face, knocking him out. "Kim?" Will knelt down and turned her face, but it wasn't her. Will pulled her shirt up to cover her decency and grabbed Kim's jacket. "Where did you get this? Who gave this to you?"

"I'm good." She replied.

"Who gave this to you? The girl who was wearing this, where is she?" Will asked her, but she was too drugged out to comprehend what he was saying.

"I'm good." She said.

Will stood up as a guy grabbed him. "Hey!" He said as Will locked and broke his arms. He then kicked him away, sending him crashing into the tarps and knocking them all down.

Another Albanian ran up to him with a gun, but Will grabbed the gun, punched him in the balls and twisted his neck. Another guy ran up with him with a gun as Will slapped the gun away, punched him in the chest, and put the guy in a chokehold. The door to the room opened as an Albanian fired at Will but shoot the guy Will was holding. Will pushed the guy's dead body off of him, pulled his gun from his holster and shot him three times in the chest.

Will ran back to the girl, covered her with a blanket, grabbed Kim's jacket and walked her out of there along with everyone else who was leaving. Will supported her and walked to her an old jeep that was close by. He opened the back-seat door and got her in, fastening her seatbelt.

The 15 Albanians in charge of the operation ran out of their little office and shot at Will who took cover behind the door. Will leaned out and fired 10 bullets, shooting three Albanians in the chest as others took cover. Will closed the door and ran to the other side to get in the driver's seat as the Albanians shot at him with pistols or assault rifles. Will saw the keys were in the ignition, so he started the car and hit the accelerator. He drove past them, firing two bullets at a gas cannister and caused a small explosion. Will drove away as the Albanians got in four cars and drove after him.

Will focused on driving as he reached into his jacket and loaded a fresh clip into his pistol and cocked it. Will swerved and avoided some construction vehicles as the Albanians kept right on him, firing their guns at the car. One was closing in on his left side as Will made a wide left turn which gave the car room enough to come along side him. Will looked at the car and threw his hand out as the side of the car was pushed with enough force to dent the metal and send it flipping on its side over and over, seriously injuring the Albanians in it or killing them.

The three remaining cars were gaining on him as the second got alongside Will's right. They shot at him as Will turned the wheel and smashed into the car, sending it veering to the side and crashing into dirt mound, flipping onto it's top. Will turned left as the last two cars shot at him.

"Enough of this shit." Will said as he looked in the rearview mirror at the cars and waved his hand to the left, causing the third car to smash into the fourth and sending them both crashing into a forklift. With the Albanians dealt with, he smashed through the gate and drove back to the city.

Will took out his phone and dialed Happy. "Happy, it's me. I need you to meet me three blocks from the hotel on the street of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont." Will told him.

" _On my way."_ Happy replied as Will hung up and drove to the city.

Happy parked the car on the street of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont. He leaned against the hood the car and waited for Will to show up. He looked at his watch when he heard a car coming from down the street and he saw an old rundown jeep coming. The jeep got closer and Happy saw it had several dents all over, a broken headlight, and several dozen bullets holes all over. The car stopped by the side of the road as the engine rumbled before it turned off. Will got out of the car and holstered his gun in his jacket.

"So, everything went according to plan?" Happy asked.

"Had to adapt to the situation." Will said as he went to the backseat and picked up the girl. "She was one of the girls at the brothel. She met my cousin, Kim. She knows where she is."

"Where is she?" Happy asked.

"She's too drugged out to tell me." Will said as he put her in the backseat and closed the door. "Let's head back to the hotel. We'll put her through an emergency detox and when she wakes up, she can help me find Kim."

"Sure. Taking a strange girl to a hotel. Nothing Tony hasn't done before." Happy said as he started the car and drove to the hotel.

Happy went through the front lobby with Will and explained that his date had a little too much to drink and he was carry her. Luckily, the hotel staff didn't raise an eyebrow at this as they were used to this kind of thing with Happy when Tony would come. Will took her to their room and got her comfortable in a bed. Will then took out the emergency medical equipment and medicine that Tony packed him and readied her emergency detox.

Happy looked at Will as he took out an IV bag, a needle, syringe, a small vial of lidocaine and other vials from the case. "We should take her to a hospital." Happy told her.

"I know, but if I do, the Albanians could get wind of this and come after her. Or the Paris Police will arrest me, and I can't have that." Will said as he grabbed a coat hanger from the closet and hung the IV bag from it. He then twisted the end, so he could hang it on the nearby lamp.

"You sure you know what your doing?" Happy asked as Will took a disinfectant wipe and cleaned her arm, before inserting the needle of the IV bag into her and taping it over.

"Yeah, I have extensive medical knowledge from my SHIELD training." Will said as he opened the lidocaine bottle and filled a syringe. "Don't worry, she'll be fine."

Will inserted the syringe into the IV line and injected the liquid. "The lidocaine should help with the pain and her recovery." Will said as he rubbed his eyes and shook his head to wake himself up.

"Will, you should get some rest. You've been up for 36 hours straight." Happy told him.

"I'm fine." Will replied as he put the medical equipment back.

"Will, you won't do Kim any good if your exhausted and not thinking straight. It'll be a while before she wakes up. Get some rest." Happy said as Will sat down in a chair next to the bed.

"I'll just…just rest my eyes for a bit." Will said as he leaned into the chair and closed his eyes. He then began to nod off and fell asleep.

Happy chuckled as he grabbed a spare blanket and put it over Will. "Kid's gonna run himself ragged. I sure hope he finds her." Happy said as he decided to call Tony to give him an update.

Line Break xxxxx

A bright light shined in Will's face, causing him to squint his eyes and raised his hand to block it. Will felt groggy as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He opened his eyes, giving them a moment to adjust to the light in the room and saw the light that woke him up was from the window in the hotel room. The sun was up and shining right in his face. Will walked over and pulled the blind down, stretching his body and waking himself up. He walked over and checked his phone to see it was 7am. He looked and saw that Happy was sacked out in the other room and the girl was still asleep. He walked over to check her pulse and it was fine along with her breathing. She was coming along well.

Will walked over to get a drink of water when he his phone rang. He saw the foreign number and figured it was Jean-Claude. "Hello?" Will answered.

" _We need to talk."_ Jean-Claude said.

"I'm listening." Will replied.

Jean-Claude instructed Will that he wanted to talk to him about what happened at the airport and at the construction site and didn't want to do it over the phone. Jean-Claude wanted him to meet him at a park bench by the river. Will agreed and grabbed his jacket but took Tony's high-tech surveillance and audio tech he packed him.

Jean-Claude sat on a park bench, waiting for Will to show up. He took a sip of coffee as he looked around and didn't see him anywhere. Jean-Claude looked around when his phone rang so he answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello, Jean-Claude." Will answered, watching Jean-Claude from the roof a building 8 blocks away. He was using Tony's high-tech encryption phone to route the call through a payphone on the street. He kept watch over Jean-Claude using some high-tech tactical goggles. They had tinted lenses with an array of visual and enhanced settings including night-vision, thermal, and enhanced zoom. The goggles were zoomed in on Jean-Claude's position, giving him a clean image as if he was standing right in front of him. The goggles also brought up vital information about the person he was looking at and showed if they had weapons or audio equipment on them. **(3)**

"I'm here at the park, where are you?" Jean-Claude asked.

"Close enough to see you. You didn't think I'd actually show up?" Will asked as he looked at the three officers who were undercover, dressed as joggers. "And you can tell your men to stand down. I think they've had enough exercise."

Jean-Claude sighed as he signaled his men to stop. "Mr. Barton taught you well." Jean-Claude said as in his other ear, he had an earpiece where a tactical team in a van down the block were tracking Will's signal from the phone call. They told him to keep talking so they could narrow it down. "But you haven't picked up his penchant for covert work."

"I didn't have to time to worry about messes or ask nicely." Will told him.

"I know. You have 72 hours." Jean-Claude said.

"Now I have 60." Will told him as Jean-Claude's team locked onto Will's position.

"No, now you have none. My chief wanted to arrest you, I convinced to him to send you home." Jean-Claude said as he pulled out a plane ticket from his jacket and held it up. "Air France, Flight 441, leaves today at 2. Coach."

"And what about my family?" Will asked.

"I told you I'd help you however I can, and this is how. I sit behind a desk, taking orders from someone, who sits behind a bigger desk. Come on, 14 dead bodies, 5 in the hospital, a building destroyed, total chaos at the airport, my chief was ready to give out a shoot on sight order. It's the best I can do, I'm sorry." Jean-Claude told him.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Jean-Claude. I'm going to find her." Will told him.

"You cannot beat the state, you know that, Will." Jean-Claude told him.

"I'm not trying to beat the state, I'm trying to find my family and stop some criminals. Isn't that your job?" Will said as looked down the street and saw the Paris Police converge in force at the location that Will was using as a dummy source for his encrypted phone call and knew Jean-Claude was trying to track him. "And it was a trailer, not a building."

Will hung up as he watched the Paris Police stumble around in confusion, not seeing Will anywhere. Will got down from the roof and went back to the hotel. He walked in to see Happy sitting at a table, eating breakfast.

"You were gone before I woke up, what happened?" Happy asked.

"My friend's contact is no longer going to help. I'm on my own." Will said as he walked over and poured himself a cup of coffee. He then heard coughing as he turned to see the girl wake up. She looked at the needle and tube in her arm and fumbled to take it off as Will walked over. "Whoa, easy. Leave it. It's all right, it's fluids and medicine to counteract the drugs, see?"

Will pointed to the IV bag hanging by the bed. "I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Will, and this is Happy." Will said introducing himself to her. "Don't worry, those guys who did this to you won't be hurting anyone else."

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I work with the American Government…sort of. I'm here looking for my cousin." Will told her as he grabbed the jacket and showed her a picture of Kim on his phone. "Did this girl give you the jacket?"

"I didn't steal it. She gave it to me." The girl told him.

"Where?" Will asked.

"At the house." She told him.

"What house?" He asked.

"The house with the red door." She said, as she remembered how she was taken. "He said it was a party."

"And the girl who gave you this jacket, she was in the house?" Will asked as she nodded.

"She was nice." She said as Will nodded.

"Yeah, she's my cousin." Will said as she started crying. "I need to find this house. Do you know where it is?"

"Paradise." She said as Will looked at Happy who nodded and began searching.

"Don't worry. Those men will never come for you again, I've made sure of that. And the men who are behind this will get what's coming to them." Will told her as he comforted her as best as he could. "You see that big guy over there?"

Will pointed to Happy at the computer and she nodded. "He works for Tony Stark, you know him, right?" He said as she nodded. "He's helping me. And he'll stay here and make sure nothing happens to you. And once this is all over, we'll help you get your life back, I promise."

"Merci. Merci." She said as she hugged him. Will froze for a second as he gently hugged her back. "God bless you."

Will put her back on the bed as she closed her eyes and rested. "Happy, anything?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I checked out Paradise and there's only one place in Paris with that name. Rue de Paradis. It's an apartment complex about 15 blocks from here." Happy said as he showed him on the computer.

"An apartment complex makes sense for something like this." Will said as he walked over and loaded his gun and grabbed some extra clips and put them into his holster. He saw a notepad on the hotel nightstand and got an idea, writing an Albanian word on it and sticking it in his pocket. "Those animals get what they deserve today and I'm getting my family back. Stay with her. Figure out who she is and how she can get her life back in order."

"You sure about this? You might need me." Happy said as Will looked at the girl.

"She needs you more. Besides…" Will said as he loaded his gun and slipped it into his holster. "it might get ugly."

Will walked to the building and saw the red doors. He slipped on his goggles and activated thermal vision and saw several dozen heat signatures, many of them in bedrooms and weren't moving but he couldn't figure out which one was Kim or Katie. Time to go in.

Will past the doors and into the small courtyard to see two men sitting at table playing checkers. One was bald while the other had a creepy moustache. The guy with the moustache stood up once he saw Will walked in.

"Good morning." Will said, playing it cool and keeping his anger in check.

"Can I help you?" he asked, William noting his accent.

"I'm here to see your boss." Will told him.

"No boss." The guy replied as Will handed him Jean-Claude's business card, pretending to be him. "We're doing nothing wrong here."

Will then took out his phone. "I push send and 30 agents will be here before anyone of you can even think of fighting back and they're authorized for shoot to kill. Now stop stalling and take me to him before I shut you down out of principal." Will warned him as the two men looked at each other.

"Wait here." He said as he walked up the stairs and was gone for about 3 minutes. Will stretched out his telepathy to see if he could hear Katie or Kim but didn't get anything as the guy came back. "You have weapon?"

"Your holding it. And I don't need a gun to handle the likes of you. So, can we get on with this?" Will asked, impatient as the guy motioned him to follow.

Will did as he was walked through the courtyard into a building. Will looked and saw several men, some in rooms and other going up stairs. He then walked into the kitchen where four men were sitting at a coffee table. "Coffee, black." Will told the guy as he got him a cup of coffee. Will looked and saw they all had the crescent moon and star tattoo Kim told him about. These were the guys.

"I'm here to negotiate the raise." Will told them as he reached into his jacket to press record on his phone.

"We already negotiated the rate with Mr. Machon." One of the guys with a scar on his right eye told him as he stood up.

"Mr. Machon has moved to another division. I'm here for the renegotiation." Will said as he put a sugar cube in his coffee and stirred it in. "Unless you think this is unreasonable in which case you need to understand something. We have you all under satellite surveillance 24/7. We know what you do, and who you talk to. Maintaining the costs to watch over all of you has gone up and since our costs have gone up, your costs have gone up. By the way, which one of you is Marco?"

"Why do you want to know?" One of them asked.

"I was told that Marco was in charge." Will said.

"We are all Marco." One of them said.

"Marco from Tropoja." Will said.

"We're all from Tropoja." Another of them said as Will wasn't amused.

"That wasn't amusing. And because of that your rate just went up 10%." Will told them.

"Mr. if you're trying to make extortion out of us because we're immigrants— ""I'm extorting you because you are breaking the law!" Will told him, interrupting him.

"Now which charge would you like to be arrested for? Drugs, kidnapping, prostitution, take your pick. You've come to this country and take advantage of our system and think that it makes you above the law because you pay some of us off. If I had it my way, you'd all be locked up in ways that make hell seem like vacation. But my superiors don't want the paperwork, so this is the arrangement. And for the extra questions, the rate went up another 10%. Now, can we settle this because I have better things to do with my day." Will told them.

"How much?" One of them asked.

"20%. And I can promise you it won't go up anymore if you stop jerking me around." Will told him as one of the guys nodded to the other to get the money.

Will looked and saw that two of the guys hadn't spoken so he needed to see if one of them was Marco. He went to one and picked up a sugar cube. "How do you say sugar in your language?" Will asked.

"Sheqer." He said as Will noted this wasn't the guy.

"Sheqer." Will said as one of them handed Will the money. "Nice doing business with you. See you in a month."

Will was about to leave when he took out the piece of paper from the hotel. "Oh, a friend gave this to me. It's Albanian, you mind translating it?" He asked the last guy as he took the piece of paper. He laughed as he showed the others and handed it back to Will.

"Good luck." He said as Will recognized his voice as the one from the phone.

"You don't remember me? We spoke on the phone two days ago." Will said as the other Albanians in the room looked at him. "I told you I would find you. Now to make good on my other promise."

Marco tried to pull a gun, but Will slammed his head onto the table hard. Will kicked the guy by the door, flipped the table and grabbed a knife. Will stabbed one of the guys in the heart, before disarming the other one and stabbed him in the heart as well. Will saw the guy he flipped the table on pull his gun, so Will pulled out his gun and shot him three times in the chest. Will then dropped to the ground and shot the guy in the doorway four times.

Will played dead on the ground as three men with guns ran in and saw the dead bodies. Will then raised his gun and shot each of three men with expertly placed head shots. "Thank you, Barton." Will said as he ejected his magazine and loaded a fresh one. He ran out of the kitchen and down the hallway on the other side of the stairs as two men ran down. One guy ran to the kitchen as Will shot him in the back of the head and the one on the stairs with a double tap to the chest.

The guy from the courtyard ran through the front door and shot at Will who took cover behind the wall. Will then leaned out and shot him three times in the chest. Will then ran up to the second floor and opened the closest door which showed a drugged-out girl handcuffed to the bed. Will checked the next one and saw another girl. He checked two more and saw more girls but no Kim or Katie. He opened the next one and saw a girl who was looked like Kim.

"Kim?" Will asked as he walked over and saw it was a different. He checked every single door in the place and didn't see her until he got to the last one. He kicked opened the door and saw Kim's friend Katie zip-cuffed to a bed.

"Katie." Will said as he walked over and saw the horrible state she's been in. He checked her pulse and was lucky to find a faint one. "Oh, thank god."

Will holstered his gun and cut the zip cuff on her hand. Will looked her over and saw three needle marks on her arm along with an empty syringe. She needed a detox stat and to get the hell out of there. Will ripped off the curtain and used it cover her up. He picked her up and walked down the stairs when he heard groaning from the kitchen. He put her down in a chair and walked over to the kitchen and saw Marco struggle to get to his knees. Will kicked him in the side and grabbed him by the neck. He hoisted him up and slammed him against the wall.

"You…fucker…" Marco said as tightened his grip and held up a picture of Kim.

"This girl, where is she?!" Will shouted as Marco struggled to breathe. "Tell me where my cousin is?!"

"Fuck…you…" Marco said as Will grew tired of this

"This is your last chance to tell me before I take the information from you. And it won't be pretty." Will told him as Marco didn't speak. "Fine, have it your way."

Will closed his eyes and did another forceful mental download and absorbed every single bit of information that was important, steering clear of Marco's distasteful memories. Will got names, associates in his enterprise, people they paid off in the police and who he sold Kim to: Patrice Saint-Clair.

Will dropped Marco to the ground, getting all he needed and saw that Marco wasn't moving. Will knelt down to feel a pulse and didn't feel one, he was dead. "My promise is kept." Will said as he walked back, picked up Katie and left the building. He stole one of their cars and called the police and Interpol about the brothel. Will drove back to the hotel and called Happy to set up more of the medical equipment.

Will walked into the room to see Happy had set up the other bed. "She's one of them?" Happy asked as Will nodded. Will put Katie down on the bed and put her through an emergency detox like he did with the other girl. Once he was finished he stepped back and took a deep breath. He walked over and took a sip of water and calmed down.

"What happened?" Happy asked.

"I found Marco and killed him and everyone who worked with him." Will said as he took another sip of water. "And I know where Kim is. He sold Kim to some guy, Patrice Saint-Clair. He some kind of wealthy financier but runs high-end sex slave auctions."

"Well, that's good. We can get her." Happy said as Will nodded.

"And I know more. The Albanians have paid off a lot of people in the Paris Police, Jean-Claude included." Will told him.

"You're kidding?" Happy asked.

"No. Him and about a dozen others in his department. But they won't be employed from much longer. Interpol will be getting a nice sized email later once I hack and show them the payoffs in their accounts." Will said as he finished his water. "But now, I'm getting my family back."

Happy stayed in the hotel to watch over Katie and the other girl as Will made his way over to Saint-Clair's mansion where he was having a party tonight. Will was watching from outside and got a glimpse of Saint-Clair along with other high-ranking rich of Paris and the world. Some of whom Saint-Clair talked to directly. Will managed to swipe an invitation and the guards at the party did give him some crap about his jacket, but Will just moved past them.

Will walked the party saw Saint-Clair walk into a door that led to a secret elevator. Will walked in and saw a guy standing by the elevator door. "Can I help you?" He asked as Will looked and saw the elevator stop on -1.

"I'm here to see Mr. Saint-Clair." Will told him.

"Your name, please?" He asked as Will showed him his invitation. The guy checked it over as the elevator dinged open and Will just punched the guy in the face and knocked him out. Will dragged his body into the elevator and rode it down. It opened into a nice marble hallway as Will dragged the guy's body into a broom closet. Will walked down and several doors all around, not sure which one to use. He was about to use his telepathy when a waiter came out with a platter and a champagne bottle in ice.

"Can I help you?" He asked as Will sighed and walked forward.

"Sorry about this." Will said as he hit the guy on the top of the head with enough force that it knocked him out. Will grabbed the plater as the guy hit the floor. Will put his body in the broom closet and walked the hallway with the champagne until he saw an Arab man in a suit come out from one of the doors. "Your champagne?"

"Here, please." He said as Will took the champagne off the plater and onto the table. Will then hit the guy in the throat with the platter as he fell over, dead.

Will took the champagne and walked in to see the Arab bidder he saw talking to Saint-Clair before sitting in a chair as he looked through a window to see a woman in her underwear as men bet on her. Will was disgusted as he put his goggles on and marked each one of their faces and saw they were all wealthy people from around the world. They would be getting a wakeup call once Will was through with them.

Will put his goggles away and grabbed the champagne bottle. "Champagne?" Will asked as the guy nodded and Will played along until he saw an opportunity to act or Kim. Will poured him his champagne as the bidder just bought another girl for $250,000. Will waited as they brought out the last girl, telling the bidders she was a virgin and Will saw it was Kim.

"Kim." Will said as he pulled out his gun and held it to the guy's head. "Listen to me, you piece of shit if you want to live another day. Buy her!"

The bidding went up quickly, up to $450,000 and when Will saw the guy wasn't going to press the button, he pressed it, securing the bid. Will then grabbed the guy and pulled him up.

"You will never get away with this." He told him.

"You want to live, you better shut up." Will told him as they walked out of the room only for Will's danger sense to go off and he was hit over the head and knocked out.

Will woke up to find himself zip cuffed to a ceiling pipe in a boiler room. He blinked his eyes a few times, cursing himself for not acting sooner but his mind was overcome with so many emotions he didn't act as fast as he normally would. Will looked and saw Saint-Clair along with four of his bodyguards.

"Well, sir." Saint-Clair said as he held up the invitation Will stole. "I can definitely say your not this man. Do you mind telling me what you're doing here, armed especially?"

Will looked and saw his gun, phone, and goggles on a seat by the door. "The last girl. She's my family." Will him.

"Oh my." Saint-Clair said.

"I'm going to give you the same warning I gave to the men who stole her before I killed them. Give her to me now, and you'll live to see another day." Will warned him.

"I wish I could, honestly. But you're not making a great negotiation for it. Let me tell you something, whoever you are, this is a business. This is a very unique business, with a very unique clientele." Saint-Clair told him.

"Rich scumbags who buy stolen woman. Like the rich Italian Aristocrat or the Japanese UN official in the other rooms." Will said as Saint-Clair looked at him. "Oh I know who they are. Along with everyone else who's been here. And let me tell you, they, along with everyone who works for you and the Albanians are going to be in hell after I tell Interpol. Last warning, let her go or you all die."

"You're not doing a very good job pleading for me not to kill you. Deal with this quickly." Saint-Clair said as he walked to the door and one of his men pulled out a rope.

"You should have given her to me." Will said as the zip cuff was snapped with his telekinesis and he dropped to the ground. He kicked one of the guys into the group as he held his hand out and his gun flew into his hand. Will then shot all four of the men dead with his gun, using the entire mag. Will grabbed his phone and goggles as he loaded a fresh clip into his gun. One of Saint-Clair's men opened the door only for Will to shoot him in the head. Will walked out as Saint-Clair pressed the elevator button.

"Ok, we can resolve this. I know how you feel. We should talk. Ok—Ok, we can work this out!" Saint-Clair shouted as the elevator door opened and Will shot him in the arm.

"You have no idea—" Will shot him again in the arm.

"Where is she?!" Will shouted.

"Please understand—" Will shot him again, this time in the leg.

"I won't ask again." Will said as he pointed his gun at his face.

"There's a boat by the river. The Sheikh, Raman bought her. Please understand, this was all business. It wasn't personal." Saint-Clair told him.

"Tell that to the lives you've ruined." Will said as he grabbed Saint-Clair's head and did another download, taking everything that Saint-Clair knew. Money information, bank accounts and more importantly, names and transactions of people from the auctions.

Will then let go once he had all the information and killed Saint-Clair with a double-tap to the heart. Will grabbed Saint-Clair's phone and left as the elevator closed.

Will ran to a back exit and saw the Arab bidder get in a car and drive away. Will ran after it and saw it heading down the streets. Will saw a parked motorcycle, so he ran and jumped on. He used his telekinesis to start the engine and sped off, running a red light, and nearly causing a car collision. He saw the car park at the docks and a hooded figure get onto the boat as it took off. Will saw a bridge it would past, so he drove like a bat out of hell down a one-way street, swerving to avoid cars when he saw the bridge and swerved to a stop. He ran onto the bridge and then jumped off, landing on the boat.

One of the guards on the top deck of the boat saw him so Will used his telekinesis to pick him up and throw him off the boat and into the river. Will pulled out his gun and walked down the stairs as another guard saw him, so Will shot him dead with two bullets to the heart. Will walked into the cabin of the boat and waited at the end of a hallway. He waited two seconds and then grabbed the guy who tried to sneak up on him, disarmed him, shot him in the gut and then slam his head into the wall.

Will walked forward as he took out another guy by disarming him and punching him in the throat. Will ran forward because he knew another guy was coming down the hallway. Will ran as he saw the guy turn the corner, so Will jump kicked him through the door into the living room of the cabin. The door swung back open as the guard stood up, but Will shot him in the head.

Will then ran into the door next to him as two guards shot at him. The two guards bust through the door, but Will was waiting behind it as he grabbed one of their guns and shot the other in the leg. He twisted the guy's arm, throwing him to the ground and shot him in the head before finishing off the other guy with three bullets to the chest.

Will walked into the foyer outside the bedroom, shooting at the porthole of a door and killing another guard. He then shot three bullets at the glass to his right, killing another guard before he ducked to avoid a gun shot from the bidder. Will dropped to the ground and shot the guy in the head, killing off the last of the guards. Will checked his mag and saw he still had a bullet left, which was all he needed. He opened the bedroom door and saw the Sheikh holding his cousin with a knife to her throat. He also saw two of the other girls the Sheikh bid on in the corner, cowering for their lives. Will aimed his gun at the Sheikh and saw how terrified Kim was while the Sheikh was nervous.

"We can negot—" **[Bang]** The Sheikh dropped dead from a bullet to the head as Will used his last one.

"I don't negotiate with garbage." Will said as he dropped his hands to the side, exhausted.

"Will?" Kim asked as Will walked forward and Kim broke down crying. "You came for me?"

She hugged him as she broke down crying. Will sighed as he held her close. "I told you I would." He said as he cried tears of joy, happy that she was safe.

Line Break xxxxx

It was 9am at JFK where there was a horde of people waiting at the International Arrival Terminal among them were Katie and Kim's parents, along with Tony and Pepper. Will had called them and said he got the girls back and they were coming home. They anxiously waited as Will walked out into the terminal with a backpack and the two metal cases of equipment and weapons Tony gave him. Happy was there with the girl's bags as Kim and Katie, who were freshened up and in new clothes walked in to see their parents.

"Mom, dad!" They shouted as their parents ran over to them. They hugged and kissed their daughters, happy that they were alive and safe. Will's uncle Stuart walked over and hugged his nephew, happy that he was alive and safe.

"Welcome home, kiddo." He said as Will hugged back. "I don't know how you did it. If there's anything you need, just tell me."

Will smiled as he looked at Kim and Katie. "I'm good." Will replied as Stuart hugged his daughter. His aunt ran over and hugged Will, thanking him to high heaven for what he did. Katie's parents came over and thanked him as Happy handed them their bags.

"Nicely done, Will." Happy said as Will nodded, smiling that this ended well.

"Thanks, Happy. I know I wasn't the most cordial partner. But thanks." Will said as he shook Happy's hand.

"Don't mention it. It was nice to play the hero for a bit." Happy said as Will chuckled.

"Think you could get use to it?" Tony asked as he walked over.

"Nah, I'm good doing what I do." Happy said as Tony pat Will on the back.

"Well done, kid. You really did something." Tony said as Pepper gave him a congratulatory hug.

"Thanks. Did you have what I asked you to consolidate?" Will asked as Tony handed him a hard drive.

"Yup. Everything's there." Tony said as he looked at the metal cases. "How was the tech?"

"Life saving. Thanks." Will said as he held it out for Tony to take.

"Nah, keep it. They won't fit me." Tony said with a smirk as Will nodded.

"Thank you, Tony." Will said as he shook Tony's hand.

"Your welcome." Tony replied as he saw Coulson, Romanoff, Barton and about 8 other SHIELD agents walk into the terminal. "And here come the party poopers."

"They're here for me. What I did in Paris wasn't exactly SHIELD sanctioned and I'm not even an agent. Time to face the music. I'll see you guys later." Will said as he walked over to them.

"Will!" Will heard as the turned and saw Kim and Katie run over and hug him.

"I love you cousin." Kim said as Will smiled and hugged them back.

"Love you too, Kim." Will said as he let go. He nodded to them as he walked over to Coulson as two agents took the metal briefcases and his backpack.

"Have a fun trip?" Barton asked.

"It was eventful. Let's get this over with." Will said as they walked outside to see a line of black sedans. Will got into the middle one and they drove to the SHIELD Building in New York where Director Fury was waiting. Will was escorted into the building and into the Director's office where only Barton, Romanoff, Coulson, Hill, and Fury remained.

"Director." Will said as he stood there while the Director eyed him.

"Do you know who I've been on the phone with for the past two days, Mr. Detmer?" Fury asked.

"You know I don't like to use my telepathy to read people, sir, unless absolutely necessary. One of my perks." Will said as Barton suppressed a chuckle and Fury stood up and grabbed the New York Times.

"Perks. You have perks. So, tell me Mr. Detmer, which perk of yours decided to put…this on the front page?" Fury asked as he slammed the newspaper onto his desk to show a headline: _Middle Eastern Sheikh murdered_ _in Paris boat massacre_. Another story in the newspaper was about the recent surge of deaths in Paris at the mansion of a dead financier as well as at a construction yard and at a residential apartment building which turned out to be a brothel.

"My perk of stopping bad people, sir." Will said as Fury didn't look amused.

"Look at my face, Mr. Detmer, I'm not amused." Fury said, looking at him. "I've been on the phone with the UN, Interpol and the World Security Council who want to know why there were bodies piled up in Paris and want to know if it was a SHIELD agent who went rogue."

"I'm not a SHIELD agent so that settles the question." Will replied.

"I don't need any kind of lip from you, Detmer. If I wanted lip I'd talk to Stark. What I need is to know what possessed you to go off on a wild goose chase in one of the most populated city's in the world. The Paris Police Commissioner wants me to hand you over to face judgement for your actions and I've even got word that the World Security Council wants you reprimanded." Fury told him as Will stayed as calm as possible.

"And yet I'm not in chains and or with a bag over my head which means that you wanted to handle this matter internally, sir." Will told him.

"What did I say, Detmer." Fury told him.

"Sorry, sir but another one of my perks is being a smartass." Will said as calmly as possible.

"It's a perk that you better think of getting rid of. You are not a SHIELD Agent or an Avenger yet have the arrogance to stand before me all calm and collected like you did nothing wrong. That's not how things work at SHIELD. What we do is precise and organized, hidden from the public so that the world can live on while we keep them safe. Not open attacks during the day that lead to headlines for the world to see and public questions and backlash that put our very methods into question." Fury told him. "You want to be a SHIELD agent, you want to help people, then you need to understand how things work. Going off around the world, especially without proper clearance or authorization is not how I run SHIELD. I suggest you reflect on your mistakes of going to Paris, Mr. Detmer, or your time with SHIELD will be done."

Will stood there and took a breath, as no one said a word. "Permission to speak freely, sir?" Will asked.

"What?" Fury asked.

"With all due respect sir, I think that everything you've told me has merit except one thing. I didn't make a mistake by going to Paris. I went to Paris to stop an international human trafficking and prostitution ring and helped make this world a safer place. Isn't that SHIELD's whole goal of protection, not just protecting the world from nuclear annihilation or aliens but also protecting its people." Will told him. "I understand that there are numerous threats that SHIELD faces and that most of them cannot be handled so that's why I acted."

"You acted like a lone vigilante who went off on a half-cocked mission." Fury told him.

"I acted like a man who wanted to save his family. And I used my training to handle it the best way the opportunity presented itself. Your right in that most of the ways SHIELD operates it's able to keep a low profile but the situation I was dealt with could not be handled any other way. I performed as my training readied me, how you want me to be ready for when you feel you can sick me on any one of your missions, Director. It's why I'm here and why you've locked all my files under level 10 clearance and why the people you answer to don't know who I am. Because you want to keep me out of the spotlight. Well, sorry sir but if I see a situation like this I don't run the other direction, I face it head on." Will told him. "The only mistake I made was not being able to save all the lives those men ruined, sir. But I don't regret my actions."

"You'll learn that not all your missions will go as smoothly, Mr. Detmer." Fury told him as he stared him dead in the eye.

"But this one did have a positive ending, sir, as well as an opportunity." Will said as he held up a phone and hard drive and handed it to him.

"What is this?" Fury asked as he put it on his desk and the desk's integrated touch-pad computer system began analyzing and downloading the files.

"While on mission, I learned a new ability, mental download where I was able to retrieve information from a subject's mind. That hard drive contains all the names, associates, payments, transactions records as well as every single person the Albanians do business with. Also on the drive are the same for Patrice Saint-Clair, the man who's slave auction I stopped. He's ruined a lot of lives and he's sold to a lot of influential people who need to be taken down a peg. With this, SHIELD, the UN, or whoever you choose can help bring down two of the world's biggest human trafficking and slave operations in the world. Probably be a lot of good press for them." Will said as everyone shocked that Will got all that information. That kind of information would literally make the career for someone at Interpol or in any government. "Will there be anything else, sir?"

"No. Dismissed, Mr. Detmer." Fury said as Will turned around to leave.

"Oh, and just a reminder that those are only copies. I have the originals and I sent copies to Tony Stark as well. Should your bosses choose not to use that information to take down those horrible people or use it to extort them then it'll be made public anyway and Iron Man will do their job. Just a reminder." Will told him as he walked to the door.

"Mr. Detmer." Fury said as Will stopped and turned around. "Well done on your first experience in the field."

"Sir." Will said as he left.

Coulson and Hill walked up to Fury who was looking at his desk at all the information that Will just got them. "He surprised you didn't he, sir?" Hill asked as Fury sorted through the information.

"It seems that Mr. Detmer is more suited for this line of work than we thought. These past few days have shown that. A little more training and we'll have an Avenger." Fury told them.

"Or a valuable agent for SHIELD." Coulson said.

"Either way, he's someone that I think SHIELD needs as much as he needs us." Romanoff said as everyone agreed.

"Up his training. I think Mr. Detmer is ready for the next level." Fury said as they all nodded.

Line Break xxxxx

After Will's personal mission to Paris to save his cousin and her friend, SHIELD upped his training to the next level, to the level that Barton and Romanoff trained at where death was a likely outcome. Will progressed nicely and was becoming a force to be reckoned with. Along with his training, news had come out a week after Will returned that Interpol and other law enforcement agencies had conducted numerous operations around the world that resulted in the arrests and destruction of numerous human trafficking and prostitution rings. The UN took credit for the arrests with help from Interpol and it was a good news day for them.

The men behind these horrible institutions would be put on trial while the influential men and law enforcement who helped them would be punished accordingly. It was a good day for the world and hundreds of families, women, children, and men would get their justice. It was now June and Will had gotten use to his new intense training and was now even more deadly. He was also given limited and restricted access to SHIELD files, so he could learn more about the organization and threats around the world. Again, the files were very limited, so they only gave him brief or public knowledge about threats.

It was now June of 2011 and Will had gotten back into his regular routine. He was at his home, making dinner when he got a message from Alex Summers, a friend from college. He said that he and some of their friends were heading to Thailand for a group trip before they all went back to their lives and jobs. Will liked the idea and since he might soon be an Avenger or even a SHIELD agent, he wouldn't have as much free time as he normally would and who knows how their vacation days worked. And since he couldn't tell his friends or family what he was doing, this might be the last chance he'd have to hang out with them so why not take it.

They'd be gone for about a week as they traveled around Thailand and ended in Bangkok before heading back home. It would be a vacation to remember, if only Will realized how right that statement was. Will left with his friends for a vacation and he enjoyed himself for the first time in a long time. It was the 5th day of their trip and they were at a nightclub in Bangkok, seated at couch at the side. With Will was his friend Alex Summers, his hometown friends Keith Ramsay and Riley Brody along with Riley's older brother Grant. Grant's girlfriend and Will's childhood friend Daisy Lee, and her friends Angel Salvadore, Clarice Fong, and Tabitha Jones who were also college friends of Will. Rounding out the group was Bobby Drake and James Proudstar, more of Will's friends from college.

Grant was telling them all one of his stories from Afghanistan while Riley and Keith were gone. "So, it turns out, it was a cow that had stepped on a fucking landmine." Grant told them.

"So, so where was Colby then?" James asked.

"That's the funniest part, he got AWOL for a hook up and the girl was so spirited that he fucking passed out." Grant said as everyone laughed.

"No way." Daisy said.

"War, man, it really makes you think." Bobby said.

"Oh, yeah about how high Bobby is right now." James said.

"These are the fun stories, Drake, you wouldn't believe the real ones." Grant said as Will stood up to get another beer.

"Hey, I'll be back!" Will told him.

"Hey, are you grabbing a beer? Grab me a beer!" Grant said.

"Dude, I'm not a walking bank. Cough up some cash." Will said as everyone laughed.

"Baby—baby give him some money. Give him a little—all right, I'll give him some money. Here it is." Grant said as he took out some money and gave it to Daisy who gave it to Will. "All right, all right! Who wants money! I have tons of money! There you go! Anybody else want money?!" Grant shouted as everyone laughed.

Will walked over to the bar when he decided to try something else. "Hey, what's the specialty drink here in Bangkok?!" Will asked the bartender.

"The Mai Tai!" he said as Will chuckled.

"No, let's do sambuca shots! 8!" Will told him as Daisy walked over.

"So, you having fun, Will?" She asked.

"Yeah, definitely glad I let you talk me into this!" Will told her as he waved for everyone to come over. "I have shots!"

"Now that, right there is what I'm talking about! Let's have those shots, baby!" Grant shouted as they all came over and Will began handing out the glasses.

"Cheers, to what, to what?!" Angel asked.

"Uh, to my brother Riley for getting through college! Where the hell is that motherfucker?!" Grant asked.

"To a helluva good time! WHOO!" Bobby shouted as everyone downed the shots.

"I'm going to find Riley and Keith! I'll be back!" Will told them as he began wandering the club to find out where Keith and Riley got to. Will walked around and saw a bunch of other tourists like him and his friend who were having a good time along with some native people of Bangkok who were enjoying a night out. Will decided to check downstairs to see if they were at the bathroom and saw Alex's friend Doug, a DJ for the club who helped with the trip.

"DJ Raiden! Doug!" Will shouted as he and Doug shook hands.

"Will, what's up? Hey, you guys sticking around for my set, right?" Doug asked.

"Yeah. Hey, have you seen Riley or Keith anywhere?" Will asked.

"Riley, the guy with the baseball cap? Yeah, he went into the washroom with your friend. He should watch out, girls here overcharge." Doug told him as Will nodded and walked into the bathroom to see Keith standing in front of Riley and arguing with three guys. As always, Riley was being as nice as he could, but Keith was all Alpha dog.

Before this erupted into a huge fight, William got in front of Keith. "Whoa, take it easy man. Let's head back in. No more fights, you promised." Will told him as Keith nodded.

"All right." Keith nodded as he, Keith and Riley walked back to the club.

"Con someone else, guys." Will said.

"Hey, big dude must pay!" One of them said.

"Fuck you, asshole!" Keith said.

"You think you're better than us?" One of them asked.

"Yeah, I do." Keith replied.

"This is our turf, not yours. Watch your back, Farang." He told him.

"We'll see about that." Keith said as they walked back into the club.

"Picking fights already, Keith. What the hell happened?" Will asked as they walked back to the others.

"Nothing, some girl came up me like they always do, and it turns out she's some prostitute. Guys tried to get me to pay." Keith told him.

"Jesus, only in Thailand. Come on." Will said as they rejoined the others and made it to the dance floor where Doug was beginning his time at the table. The music blared through the club as Will and his friends along with the rest of the club danced to the infectious beats and awesome music.

Doug's set was about to end when Will noticed the thugs from the bathroom walk onto the dance floor and one walked up to Keith while the other walked up to him. The guy in front of Keith bumped him twice resulting in Keith throwing the first punch. Grant saw this and went to help him as the other guy got in Will's face.

"You don't want to do this." Will told him as the guy threw out a punch which Will blocked and countered with a punch to the stomach. The guy held his stomach in pain as Will then punched him across the face and knocked him out.

The fight brought the attention of others and security so Doug ran up to Alex and ushered him to the back door. "Guys, this way!" Alex shouted as they all ran out of the club and back to their hotel. They ran fast as they could and waited for the elevator as Will was the last one in, just narrowly getting in before the doors shut.

Everyone laughed as Keith and Grant fist-bumped. "Did you need to kick him that hard?" "I did, I had to. I had to." They bantered.

"That was awesome." Riley said.

"I've got the munchies, now." Bobby said.

"All I need is an ankle tattoo and this trip is complete." Daisy said.

"Are you looking for, you're looking for a yantra tattoo?" Doug asked as Daisy nodded. "I know this great guy near the Siam BTS station."

"Oh, guys this is Doug. He's the DJ around here and all around amazing guy." Alex said as he and Keith shook hands.

"Uh, Alex tells me you guys are doing the Thailand thing?" Doug asked.

"Yeah, Bangkok was our last stop." Grant said.

"Good choice, always good to go with a bang. So, what are you guys planning next?" Doug asked.

"Ah, we'll just see what happens. We've got two more days left before we head back home." Will said.

"And back to our boring, monotonous lives." Tabby said.

"Then we'd better do something pretty amazing for your sendoff. If you guys got the money, I know an island where you can do anything." Doug said. "All right, well what about something extreme? Like say, skydiving?!"

Everyone was excited for the idea. "You get a plane, you parachute down to the island. Bam." Doug said.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Keith said.

"I don't know guys. Jump blind? That's risky, even for us." Will said as everyone got on his case. "It is, it's risky!"

"You can go tomorrow." Doug told them as Will still didn't like the sound of it.

"Why are you being such a pussy." Keith said.

"Come on, guys. When are we going to get a chance like this? It's perfect. Now we have to do it. We're in. So, where's this island?" Alex asked.

"About 50 miles off the coast. We parachute down and we get a boat to pick us up when we're done." Doug said.

"All right. We're doing it. First thing tomorrow." Alex said as Will still didn't have a good feeling about this. How right he was.

Line Break xxxxx

If Will had put money on the bad feeling he had on the sky diving trip to the island Doug told them about, it would have been a smart bet. The skydiving was fun and everyone made it to the island safely and they had a good time, exploring and goofing around for about a few hours but then things when south really fast. All of a sudden, men dressed in red clothing and carrying assault rifles charged them on the beach they were relaxing at. Bullets flew through the air and grenades where thrown causing everyone to run into the woods in fright. The group got separated as some of them were captured while some ran. Doug got killed with a knife by one of the men while Will tried to escape with the others only for a mortar round from an attack boat to stop that.

Will managed to put up a barrier by his friends but the impact knocked him unconscious and the last thing he saw were his friends being taking prisoner. Will then woke up with his hands tied behind his back and sitting on the ground in a bamboo cage, sitting across from Grant. Will yelled to Grant but a gag muffled his voice.

' _I've got the worse luck if this happens to me only a month after I get my cousin back from the Albanians.'_ Will thought to himself as he looked around and saw a guy with a mohawk, a red tank-top and carrying Alex's phone walk up to them.

"I got to say, man. This is some serious awesome shit." The guy said as he showed them the recording Will took of them skydiving. "Huh? Jumping out of airplanes, flying like birds? Fuck, that is crazy."

Will didn't even have to read this guy's mind to know that he was deranged, just by the way he spoke. "I like this phone, this is a nice fucking phone. So, what do we have here. Grant and William from New Jersey, huh? Home of the Jersey Shore, stupid shit like that." He said as he chuckled. "Well, I hope your mama and your papa really, really love you, because you two white boys look very expensive. And that's good, because I like expensive thing."

Grant began shouting at him but the rag muffled his voice. "I'm sorry, what did you say? What did you say? DO YOU WANT ME TO SLICE YOU OPEN LIKE I DID YOUR FRIEND?! SHUT THE FUCK UP, okay! I'm the one with the fucking dick. Look at me, look me in the fucking eye." He shouted to Grant. "HEY! YOU FUCK! Look me in the eye! You're my bitch. I rule this fucking kingdom. Shut the fuck up, or you die!"

Will saw how Grant was going crazy but Will's SHIELD training always taught him to remain calm in situations like this. Will needed to find his friends first and he wasn't going to waste energy on rage. Will then saw the guy looking at him with a deranged look. "What is it, Will? Will, what is it? Why aren't you laughing now like you did up there? What, is it not fun anymore? Have I failed to entertain you?! You see, the thing is, up there, you thought you had a chance. Way up in the fucking skies you thought you had your finger on the pussy trigger. But hermano, down here…down here…? You hit the ground." He said as he rubbed some dirt and stood up.

"It's ok. I'm gonna chill. I'm gonna relax because you, moi, and your tough guy friend, we are going to have a lot of fun together while we wait for the money." The guy told them.

"Vaas. Stop scaring the hostages. I need you to take care of the rejects." Another guy told him, obviously in charge.

"I just hope that you two pieces of fucks are more entertaining than your friends. They're not going to last long where I've sent them." He said as he walked away, leaving a guard to watch over them. Will waited as he saw the guard sit down in a chair and play some cards.

Will then ripped apart the bonds and took the gag out of his mouth. "Grant? What the hell happened? Where are the others?" Will asked as he crouched over and removed his gag and the binds

"Don't know. We got separated. Guess you were right about having a bad feeling, Will." Grant said as Will looked at the cage and saw the tied rope that held it close. Will reached his hand around the bamboo bar, untied it, and slowly opened it.

He motioned Grant to keep quiet and stay low as Will slowly moved over to the sitting guard. When Will got close enough and put the guy in a head lock. The guy struggled but Will didn't let go and after about 60 seconds, the pirate went limp. Will moved his body into some bushes and grabbed the knife from his belt and the pistol in his holster, which was a Colt M1911. Will ejected the clip and pulled the barrel checking to see a bullet in the chamber. He then put the clip back in and tucked it into his belt.

"Where the hell did you learn to do that?" Grant asked, seeing Will do all that like a seasoned military veteran.

"You went into the army. I went into spy work. Long story, I'll explain later. We need to get the hell out of here. Come on." Will said as they stayed low and slowly tried to find a way out. They saw dead bodies hung up like cattle and more cages. There were other buildings and huts as they kept moving, staying as quiet as possible so they didn't alert some guards playing poker.

They made their way around the guards and made their way in-between two buildings where they could see the rest of the compound with more red-shirted pirates, armed with guns. They crawled under a building and made it past more guards and kept moving. They walked into an empty hut where they saw hundreds of pounds of opium, cocaine, and other types of drugs stored in the warehouse. These guys must be running a drug operation on the island. They made their way into a second room where Will saw a picture of a woman pinned to the wall. On a table, William saw hundreds of passports from all around the world. These guys have been doing this for a while. Will also saw one of the digital cameras that Will and his friend had taken with them, a tablet, a satellite phone the pirates use, and a map.

"Let's grab our stuff and the map." Grant said as Will nodded. Will grabbed the map and camera while Grant took the tablet and satellite phone. Grant also grabbed a knife that was stuck into the table. They heard one of the pirates speak through the phone so it could be useful in listening in on them.

They kept moving along the edge of the compound, staying hidden and out of sight of the pirates. They kept moving and saw Vaas executing some people on a stage. Will took out the camera and took a picture of him, getting a clean image of his face. Will also saw the rest of the cages and zoomed in but couldn't see their friends. They weren't here.

"Will, come on." Grant said as Will followed.

Grant and Will then had to crawl under a walkway through the compound as vehicles and more pirates came in and Will knew that he couldn't risk fighting with Grant here and he didn't know where his friends were. They'd come up with a plan later. They moved slowly but surely until they finally made it to the jungle.

"Jesus Christ." Grant said as they moved behind some trees, away from the compound. "We never should have made that jump."

Will took out the map and saw it was labeled with various red dots all over the island, possible other compounds. "Don't worry, Grant. We'll find Daisy, Riley, and the others. We're gonna free them and then we're gonna get the hell home." Will said as his danger sense kicked in and tackled Grant to the ground to avoid a bullet.

"What? Huh, you want to run? Huh, you want to run and disrespect me?!" Vaas shouted as Will grabbed the map and put it in his pocket.

"You're damn right, asshole!" Will shouted as he fired the pistol at Vaas and his two bodyguards. He killed the two guards but Vaas ducked behind a wall. Will saw a gasoline barrel and shot at it, causing an explosion but using up the last bullet in the bullet. "Shit, RUN!"

Will and Grant booked it as they heard Vaas shouting at them accompanied by the sound of gunfire. "MOVE! MOVE!" Grant shouted as they ran deep into the jungle as bullets whizzed past them.

They ran as fast as they could as they then slid down a hill and hit the ground hard. They got back up and kept running as the pirates closed in on them and a searchlight shined on them from the sky. They jumped a gap as they heard the sound of a helicopter.

"They have a chopper?!" Grant shouted.

"Keep running!" Will shouted as they kept moving through the jungle.

"What about the others?!" Grant shouted.

"We'll find them later!" Will shouted as they had to crawl through narrow opening. Grant made it through followed by Will when one of the pirates jumped down at them with a knife. He tried to stab Will but Will grabbed the knife and stabbed him in the neck.

They resumed their running as they heard dogs after them. They made it to a bridge but the helicopter arrived and began shooting at the bridge. Will threw out his hand and used telekinetic push to hit the helicopters rear blade, destroying it. This caused it to begin spinning out of control and unfortunately smashed through the bridge cutting it in half. Will and Grant held on for dear life as they then hit the water below and were carried away by the current. They faded in and out of consciousness and the last thing Will saw was a tattooed hand grabbed him and Grant.

' _The jungle speaks through the warrior. The Path leads to the heart of the jungle. Follow the path, and you will find the answer.'_ Will heard a voice say as he woke up and saw he was in a wood hut. He turned and saw an African American man with glasses and wearing an old air force jacket tattooing something on his arm.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Will shouted as he sat up and the man tried to get him to lay back down.

"You are awake. Well, not all of you. The arm has been deaden to allow for the Tatau." The man said as Will saw tattoo circle around his left arm.

"No, it's not." Will said as he pulled his arm free and stood up, flexing his arm, and glared at the man.

"Oh, you are a strong one." He said as he pulled out a machete and pointed it at Will. "A strong man makes a strong warrior."

He chuckled as he then held the handle out to Will. "I'm Dennis."

"Will." Will said as he took the machete.

"Bangau, Labah-labah. The heron, the shark, and the spider. I know who you are, Will. You are a warrior. And Tatau will allow you to unveil your true self." Dennis said as Will put the machete away.

"Look, thanks for saving me. But where's the guy I was with?" Will asked as Dennis nodded and he showed him to the other room where Will saw Grant asleep on a cot with his leg in a makeshift brace and bandages around it. "What happened to him?"

"His leg was broken in the fall. We managed to set it and he will make a recovery." Dennis said.

"Thank you. But I need to find 9 other friends that the pirates took." Will said as Dennis nodded.

"Come with me." Dennis said.

"So, you'll help?" Will asked.

"No, you can only help yourself. I am going to free you." Dennis said as they walked outside and Will was greeted with the sight of a small yet vibrant and active town.

"How did we get here?" Will asked.

"I found you and your friend by the beach. Welcome to Amanaki Village. It is something, isn't it, huh?" Dennis said as he then spoke to the people. "Selamat tengahari. I have William Detmer with me. The man who escaped Vaas's camp alive!

They cheered as Will just waved. "Your escape is a sign that the battle has turned. Our people are in need of good news." Dennis said.

"These are your people?" Will asked.

"The island calls to the strongest. It called to me. The island dwellers, the Rakyat, accepted. And I became a member of their tribe." Dennis said as he looked at two women who were wearing very little clothing. "They are something, aren't they?"

"Sure. Now can you point me in the direction to help my friends?" Will asked as Dennis nodded and handed him a small roll of money.

"Cash for weapons. Get a gun first, them meet me outside." Dennis said as Will walked into a makeshift gun store.

"What can I get for this?" Will asked as he put the money on the table and woman who ran the store gave him a 6P9 Soviet era pistol. She also put down 4 extra clips of ammo and a leg thigh holster.

"There you go but take down those radio towers and I'll give you something a little extra next time." She said as Will nodded.

Will walked out and strapped the holster to his right thigh, put the pistol in the holster and the extra clips in the ammo slots. Will followed Dennis out of the town, blocking out what Dennis was saying about the jungle and spirit of the warrior because right now, he didn't care. He just needed to find his friends.

Dennis told him about radio towers that were all over the island and how Vaas set up scramblers on them so he could communicate with his men and keep anyone from contacting the outside world or vice-versa. Taking down the scramblers would make it harder for Vaas to retaliate back, keep track of him, and Will could try and contact SHIELD for help. Dennis stood by a car at the gate of the village as Will walked to the radio tower. He walked up the dirt pathway and saw the old, rusted, and disheveled state the tower was in, no way were the stairs all in one piece.

"Ok, stairs aren't the safest way. Let's try this." Will said as he shook his legs a bit and took a deep breath. He concentrated his powers to his legs, remembering the time from the Stark Expo attack as the ground underneath his feet began to tremble and small pebbles and dirt began to float in the air. Will then jumped and he soared up to 40 feet in the air and managed to land on the top platform of the radio tower. "Whew, that was awesome."

Will walked over to the power junction box as he saw how high he was up. "Okay. Right, don't look down." Will said as he walked over power box and ripped off the lock. He opened it and saw the scrambled attached to the broadcast wire so he detached it and reattached the radio tower transmitter and activated the tower.

Will took out the satellite phone he stole from pirates and trying calling anyone from SHIELD but the signal wasn't strong enough and he kept getting static or the line cut out. The other scramblers must still be interfering with the signal, he'd have to take down more of them to make a call. Will then jumped off the tower and slowed his descent with his powers so he didn't break his legs or kill himself. He slowly fell down and when he was a foot off the ground, he stopped and dropped to the ground with ease. He walked over to Dennis who was now brandishing an AK47 slung over his shoulder.

"Well done. Show me your map." Dennis said as Will brought out the paper map of the island. "That tower was only one of them. Many litter the island but for everyone you disable, more of your journey will be made easier. You will be able to listen in on the communication of Vaas's men with your phone and they will have a harder time keeping track of you and organizing retaliations. The more towers you take down, the easier the shopkeepers will be able to do business with the outside and will reward you with weapons. Your journey is only beginning, William. The jungle is a perilous place and Vaas's men control all of it. It will not be an easier fight to get your friends back."

"I've been through a lot worse." Will said as the satellite phone in his pocket began ringing. "What the?"

Will pressed the answer button and he heard a voice and the sound of two girls crying. " _Hey, Felipe. We're driving to the outpost near Amanaki. We have two of the American girls. Come have some fun."_ The person said.

"You're fun's over." Will said as he hung up. "We need to get them back."

"Follow me." Dennis said as they got in the car and Dennis drove away.

"What's this outpost they've taken my friends too?" Will asked.

"The outposts are strongholds found throughout Rook island. Vaas's pirates hold them to control the surrounding area." Dennis said.

"Good, I need to let off some steam." Will said.

"Rescuing your friends will kill two pigs with one stone. We are at war with Vaas. Taking outposts from the pirates is key to reclaiming the island. We conquer one for the Rakyat, the area becomes safer. This means faster travel for everyone, and new opportunities to develop your skills as a warrior." Dennis told him.

"My skills are more than enough to handle some pirates, believe me." Will told him as a jeep drove onto the road with 4 men dressed in blue and armed with weapons. "Who's in the truck?"

"Rakyat warriors. The true Rakyat who live at the heart of the island. The Tatau will help them to trust you." Dennis said.

"Listen, Dennis. I appreciate saving me and Grant on the beach, but I just want to save my friends and get the hell home. Don't think about having me join or fighting your war for you." Will said as they arrived near the camp.

"Our goals are one in the same, William. The jungle calls to the strong of heart and mind. Men like you. You will find that once you step into the jungle, you will not want to come out." Dennis said as he grabbed and loaded his AK47. "Go and start the attack. We shall wait for you to begin the attack."

Will saw the two roads leading into the outpost so he decided to take the stealthy route and sneak through the woods. He slowly made his way through the brush and saw two small metal shacks and a large cargo container headquarters. He saw 7 pirates armed with assault rifles and one guard dog. The guard dog was going to be tricky as he knew it would give his position away. He did see some gasoline barrels by a pick-up truck and got an idea. He used his telekinesis to pick a rock up and throw it through the air, smashing into the truck's window, causing the car alarm to go off.

"What's that?" One of the pirates asked.

"Go check it out." Another said as three pirates and the dog walked over to the truck as the other four stood at alert. Will slowly moved behind one of the four and put him in a chokehold. The pirates struggled to breathe as Will didn't let go and soon he passed out. Will pulled him out of sight and grabbed the pirate's AK47 and the ammo bag bandolier and slung it over his shoulder. Will saw the pirate also had a grenade and that gave him an idea. He picked it up, pulled the pin and threw it over to the truck.

"What the? GRENADE!" The pirate shouted as the grenade went off, causing the truck and the gas barrels to explode in a huge fiery explosion, killing the three pirates and the dog.

"What the?" A pirate shouted as Will got up behind him and stabbed him in the neck with the machete. The last three pirates turned and saw one of them killed and pointed their guns at him. Will took out the pirate's 1911 pistol and killed the nearest pirate with a headshot as he held the pirate's dead body to him like a shield as the body took the bullets from the last two pirates. Will fired the pistol and killed the last two pirates with shots to the chests. Will discarded the pistol and dropped the dead pirate as he ran up to the cargo container and smashed into the room.

"Daisy! Angel! Clarice! Tabby!" Will shouted as he ran into the room and saw a table with an old laptop and radio set up, several cots, a weapons locker and some tables and chairs but no sign of his friends. "Dammit!"

Will looked around for any clue as to where his friends where when a radio transmission came in. _"The outpost near Amanaki is under attack. Where are the American prisoners?!"_

" _We lost them?" "What?!" "They escaped on the west side of the fucking island. I'll tell you about when we get there."_

"They escaped." Will said as he walked up to the radio and grabbed a walkie talkie and set it to the radio frequency the pirates were using. He then grabbed the laptop off the table and put in a backpack he grabbed for later and walked outside as a Rakyat warrior walked up to him.

"William, you are worthy of the Tatau. Worthy to walk the Path of the Warrior." He said as he pat William on the shoulder and Dennis walked up to him.

"We found two of your friends at the Colonist house. Doctor Earnhardt to the west. But do not worry, it is safe there. The doctor will be waiting for you." Dennis told him.

"West, got it. Did they tell you which friends?" Will asked.

"No, but we will keep continuing our search for the others. I will radio you if we hear more. Keep your head up, William. The tribe is very impressed with you. And do not worry about your other friend. He will be safe in the village until you return." Dennis said as he and the Rakyat warriors left.

Will went over to one of the ATV's the pirates used and drove to the western side of the island, using his map to plot out a route. He drove through the dense jungles and near sea-side cliffs and small swamps or rivers. Will drove for about an hour through the island when a pirate occupied pick-up saw him and followed. They shot at him as bullets whizzed past his head and any that did hit him bounced off the telekinetic barrier he put around his body. Will drove over a bridge and drifted around a corner as the pirates followed him. Will looked back and waved his hand, smashing the front of the truck and causing it to veer off the road and smash into a tree.

Will resumed his ride and saw a huge manor on a hill, that was where Doctor Earnhardt is. Will continued on the path until he came to a large metal fence and parked the ATV there and finished the rest of the trip on foot. He made his way up the hill path and saw a small pond, a garden, a windmill, a greenhouse with an open door and an old manor that had seen better days.

"Hello?! Doctor Earnhardt?!" Will shouted as he walked into the greenhouse to see a bunch of medicinal plants and several bowls with various colored pellets. Will looked around and recognized some of the plants as medicinal or toxic from his SHIELD training with Barton, Coulson, and Romanoff and before he could look any further, he heard footsteps and saw an old pale man in a dirty green suit walk in.

"Do you seen anything you fancy? I like the red ones myself. The purples will give you a life on a grey day. Everything is excellent, really. Oh, not the yellows don't take them, they're liable to kill you. The mix is not quite right yet. Well, that said, Dr. Earnhardt here. Or, in and out, as the case may be." Earnhardt said as Will nodded.

"Right. I'm William. Dennis said you'd be able to help me. That you'd found two of my friends. Americans?" Will asked as the doctor nodded.

"Ah, yes. Daisy and Angel." Earnhardt said.

"So, it's Daisy and Angel that got away. Where are they?" Will asked.

"Oh, they're in my house, sir. Here. Up the stairs and it's the bedroom to the right." Earnhardt said as Will nodded. "You go ahead. I must bring up some items."

Will ran into the house and up the stairs to the bedroom where he saw Angel sitting in a chair by a bed. "Angel!" Will said.

"Will!" Angel shouted as they hugged each other, glad that the other was safe. "You're alive."

"Yeah, same could be said for you." Will said as he looked down and saw Daisy laying on a bed, asleep but in bad condition. "What happened to Daisy? How did you guys get away?"

"We ran into the woods when the pirates stopped to make a call. We barely got away when the Doctor found us. Don't worry, he's sweet and kind of harmless. Did anyone else make it?" Angel asked.

"Grant's alive. Daisy will be happy to hear that." Will said as he sat on the bed and felt her head and she was burning with a fever. "She's burning up."

The doctor walked in carrying an old girly lunchbox. "Yes, of course. When I found your friends, she cut her arm, which in itself would be no cause for alarm but she had cut it on a field of Antiaris toxicara." The Doctor said.

"Upas trees. Highly poisonous." Will said as the Doctor nodded.

"Ah, a man of science. Anyway, I've been administering an antidote each hour but I ran out. I'm afraid another dosage may be required." The doctor said as he held up an empty plastic jar.

"What do you need and where can I get it?" Will asked.

"Set us up with a couple of cave mushrooms, and we will be right as rain. Peruse the cliffs to the west." Earnhardt said.

"Thank you, Doctor. Sorry for the rush." Will said.

"Oh, no trouble at all. The girl must live…for you and me both." Earnhardt said as Will walked down the stairs and Angel followed him.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. Stay here and look after Daisy." Will said as he took out the 6P9 pistol and gave it to her. "Here. Hopefully you won't need to use it but if you do just point and shoot."

"Will, where the hell did you get this?" Angel asked.

"Long story short. I bought it at the village that saved me and Grant." Will said as he checked the clip in his AK-47 and pulled the slide back and slung it over his shoulder like he had done it a thousand times.

"Do I even want to know how you can do that?" Angel asked, seeing how Will handled a gun like he had done so before.

"Ok, you know how Grant when into the army?" Will asked as Angel nodded. "Well, I got recruited by an…intelligence organization right after my parent's death."

"Intelligence…you mean a spy agency?" Angel asked.

"Sort of. It's a lot to explain and I'm not even supposed to tell you but since I'm not an official agent the rules are a little loose here. It's called SHIELD and that's how I know to do all this." Will said as he pulled out radio and satellite phone and gave it to her along with the backpack containing the laptop. "Here, hold onto this. Don't answer it until I get back."

"Ok but Will it's dangerous out there. Those pirates will kill you." Angel said as Will nodded.

"I know, but they wouldn't be the first bad guys to try." Will said as he walked to the door. "A month ago, I took down one of the world's largest human trafficking and prostitution ring to get back my cousin. I'm not letting these pirates take our friends. You can count on that. Stay here, I'll be back as soon as I can."

"You better." Angel said as Will walked out the door and began making his way to the cliffs.

He began making it slowly down the path until he came to a cave that half submerged by the ocean. "He could have told me it was underwater." Will said as he took a breath and jumped into the water, covering his head as he splashed down.

Will dove down and swum into the cave until he came into a small opening. Will broke the surface and saw there must be some kind of underground cavern system here. "That doctor better be right about this." Will said to himself as swam forward and climbed out of the water and onto the rocks inside the underground cavern. Will shook his hair and rung out his clothes as he began walking through the cave to find the mushrooms. He kept walking until he saw he needed to jump a gap to continue so he did, using his powers to jumper further than he normally would.

Will kept moving, climbing some vines as he explored more of the underground cavern but still didn't see any mushrooms. He kept walking and saw a small alcove of vegetation and what looked like mushrooms but not the ones the doctor needed. Will kept moving when he stepped on a mushroom and it puffed out a yellow colored gas. Will inhaled it and began coughing as he quickly covered his mouth and moved away.

Will's vision began to get blurry as he felt heavy and light-headed at the same time. "What the hell?" Will asked as he looked at his hands and felt weird. Will kept moving and making his way through the cavern when he began hearing voices in his head.

" _I like the red ones myself."_ He heard the doctor say.

"Doctor?" Will called out as his surroundings began to get warped.

" _You are awake. Well, not all of you. The jungle speaks only through the warrior. The paths leads to the heart of the jungle."_ He heard Dennis said as the cave suddenly transformed into the jungle as he kept walking but then images of recent memories began replaying like at a movie.

" _My name is Phil Coulson, I'm with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division." "So, Will's part Alien. That's a thing?" "Will, look at me. You may not be my biological son and you may be part alien but you are still you." "From your file, you have a lot of potential to help the world." "Avenger Initiative? Sounds like a comic book." "The beginning of a change that SHIELD has been preparing for since its inception."_

Will saw recent memories playing over and over like someone hit a repeat button. And they were all memories after he got his powers from the meteor. Will kept walking through his hallucinogenic mind-trip when he saw the same glowing blue meteor that gave him his powers fall through the sky and crash in front of him, sending up a cloud of dust. When the dust settled, the blue glow of the meteor called to him as the images changed to moments he wasn't familiar with.

" _You've been asleep, captain. For almost 75 years." "You trying to get me back in the world, sir? I'm trying to save it." "The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people. To see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles we never could." "We get into a situation like this again, what happens then? Then they'll come back…because we need them to." "Nothing's been the same since New York." "For as long as I can remember, I've just wanted to do what was right. Guess I'm not quite sure what that is anymore." "The price of freedom is high…but it's a price I'm willing to pay." "It doesn't matter what you once were. When you step out that door, you step out to kill. Because when you step out that door, you are an Avenger." "There's no decision making process going on here. We need to be put in check. Whatever step that takes I'm game." "I could do this all day." "We have a duty as SHIELD agents, to protect and serve. To protect this world from a much weirder one…to be the SHIELD that guards them."_

Will finally walked through the path and touched the meteor like he did the night he got his powers and a huge wash of euphoria came over him and the images changed to different ones about some massive battle on a huge field of grass. There were aliens, giant machines, spaceships, a huge dome of energy, and a clash of fighting on the ground and he was there. He fighting alongside a man in a Black Cat suit, Romanoff, A Chinese American girl his age with metal gauntlets, his uncle Jeffrey who was wearing some kind of SHIELD armor, and someone who looked a lot like Captain America. The images then shifted to show them fighting a losing battle against a large purple alien with a gold gauntlet and colored stones.

" _The end is near. When I'm done, half of humanity will still exist. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be. And I hope they remember you. In time, you will know what it's like to lose. To feel so desperately that your right, yet to fail all the same. Dread it…run from it…destiny still arrives. Fun isn't something one considers when balancing the universe. But this…does put a smile on my face."_

The meteor then glowed bright blue and all the voices and images disappeared as Will appeared back in the cave with the mushrooms he was looking for in front of him. "What the hell?" Will asked as he shook his head to clear out the cobwebs.

Will picked up some of the mushrooms and put them in the plastic jar. He kept moving along the path and heard the distinct crash of waves against rocks and the rustle of wind. He kept moving through the cave and saw an old rusted artillery cannon from World War2. Will looked around and saw the moon was out.

"Jesus. How long was I down there?" Will asked as he walked out and saw the road he took to the DR's house so he followed it. He managed to make his way back to the Doctor's house and went to the greenhouse where he saw the Doctor working on something.

"Ah, William. What a pleasant surprise. I whipped up a couple of high notes since you were gone. Oh yes, and the girl is now awake. Terrible fever however. What did I do with the buggers?" Earnhardt asked, looking around his table. "Oh yes. I finished them off."

Will just shook his head and took out the container. "I have the mushrooms."

"Delightful. Give them to me. I need a couple of minutes to prepare the medicine. Go check on her." The Doctor said as Will walked back into the house. He saw Angel asleep on the couch with the blanket tosses on the floor. He walked over, picked it up and put it back on her and then walked up stairs to see Daisy lying on the bed, still in bad shape but awake.

"Will!" Daisy managed to smile as she saw Will was alive and well.

"How are you feeling?" Will asked as he sat down next to her.

"You got away. That's how I'm feeling. Where's Angel?" Daisy asked as she looked around.

"She's downstairs, getting some rest. That Doctor's a real trip isn't he?" Will asked as Daisy chuckled.

"Oh he's…he's harmless. He's kind of sweet, actually. He carried me here after Angel and I escaped the convoy. We'd be dead if it wasn't for her. The doctor saved me." Daisy said as Will smiled.

"Glad you made it. Grant's alive too." Will told her.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"He's resting at the village that rescued us. He broke his leg. I'll bring him to see you later." Will told her as she smiled when she noticed his tattoos.

"Will, where did you get this?" She asked as she held his arm.

"Some crazy guy at the village did this while I was asleep. I'm getting it removed as soon as we find the others and get home." Will told her. "I want you to take it easy for now, ok. The poison running through your system isn't something you heal overnight."

"I will. What about you?" She asked.

"I'm going to find the others. And make that psychotic son of a bitch who kidnapped us regret being born." Will told her as the Doctor walked in. "Get some rest."

"Ok." She said as she rested on the bed.

"Can I talk to you for a second, Doctor?" Will asked.

"Of course." Doctor Earnhardt replied.

"I wanted to thank you for saving Daisy and looking over my friends." Will told him.

"Think nothing of it." Doctor Earnhardt replied.

"We still have some friends missing. When I find them, can I bring them here?" Will asked.

"Absolutely not. I cannot afford to have Vaas's captives here. His men buy product from me todo el tempo." Doctor Earnhardt told him.

"Then this is also the safest place on the island until I can make a call for help. If not in the house, what about the caves down by the ocean? There's got to a small alcove there they can use. Please, Doctor it'll only be temporary until I can get them off the island." Will told him.

"Please, doctor. Let him bring the rest here. They'll die otherwise." Daisy told him.

"Agnes! How can I refuse you? Of course they can stay." Earnhardt said. "Oh, I'm going to need a double dosage to calm my nerves."

Daisy held the Doctor's hand as she looked at Will. "We'll be fine." She told him as Will knelt to her side and kissed he ad.

"Wait here and get better. I'm going to find the others." He told her as she nodded.

 **End of Chapter 2**

 **John Wick's primary pistol he used in John Wick 1. That's Will's primary weapon.**

 **Will's outfit is basically Star Lord's new outfit from his solo comic, Star-Lord Vol 2.2 except it has black accents and no symbol. It you need a visual reference, imagine the jacket Star-Lord wears in Guardians 1 and that's Will's jacket but dark blue with white accent lines on the elbows and back.**

 **Black Lightning's goggles from the Black Lightning TV show**

 **Hoped you guys liked the 2** **nd** **chapter of the Perfect One. When I first got the idea for the story and began writing the first chapter, wanting my character to go through something like in the first Taken movie sounded really cool and would be a good way of showing his transition from his old life into SHIELD. It shows what Will won't stand for, how willing he is to go above and beyond for people he cares about and how merciless he can be to scum and trash. Plus it was an excuse to use Taken and Far Cry 3, one of my favorite video games without having to do another crossover story.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy his character build up as well as the development of his powers. He uses them sparingly because he doesn't want to draw unwanted attention to himself and SHIELD would be on his case with him using his powers in public and even as a SHIELD agent, he'll need to use his powers with discretion. But he'll find creative ways to use them and he'll show that with or without them, he's just as deadly and dangerous.**

 **Next chapter, Will continues to search for his friends on the treacherous Rook Islands as he deals with pirates and the insane Vaas who will stop at nothing until he has Will's head. Will's journey through the island shows him just how broken the world is and what will he become in order to save it.**

 **William Detmer**

 **Moniker=?**

 **Appearance:** Stephen Amell from Arrow, present day build **.**

 **Combat gear:** Star Lord's new outfit Marvel Star-Lord Vol 2.2 cover art or Star-Lord Jacket from Guardians 1 but dark blue and white. His new outfit is Will's tactical combat outfit except no symbol or mask yet. Tactical Goggles from Black Lightning

 **Weapon:** Modified Heckler & Koch P30L handgun

 **Casual Outfit:** dark blue or black sneakers, jeans, blue or black t-shirt and either a zip-up hoodie, jacket, or button up over.

 **Born:** September 8th, 1988-Currently 22

 **Notable talents:** Genius level intellect potential, self-defense military training from Harold Detmer, knowledge and training in 15 types of martial arts, gun knowledge and expert marksman trained by Clint Barton, espionage and spy skills learned by Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD tactics and medical training from Coulson and SHIELD trainers, well-crafted knowledge and understanding of psychology, knowledge, and experience with engineering both mechanical and electrical.

 **Personality:** Kind, caring, composed, attentive, intelligent, and driven. Can be a bit of a smartass.

When insulted, angered, or in a serious situation, focused and relentless. Considered dangerous and unforgiving in these types of situations.

Uses powers sparingly in the field unless absolutely needs to.

 **Just a heads up, the people I introduced in this chapter will come back again later in a much more substantial way when I get to the Agents of SHIELD Arc so don't forget them. As for their physical appearance, the ones from the X-men First Class movie, the Gifted TV shows and the Far Cry game resembled their actors. That's what they look like.**

Alex Summers-From X-men Apocalypse

Keith Ramsay

Riley Brody

Grant Brody

Daisy Lee

Angel Salvadore-From X-men First Class

Clarice Fong-From The Gifted

Tabitha Jones-Imagine Teresa Palmer in appearance

Bobby Drake-From-X-men

James Proudstar-From The Gifted

 **Powers: (If in bold, capable of doing now)**

 **Telekinesis, the ability to impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other non-physical means: Power Level=Adept**

 **Binding-** _to keep an object/being from moving_

 **Levitation-** _to lift an object_

Orbital Field-to makes objects and energy orbit around user

 **Psionic Speed-** _to augment user's physical speed_

 **Psionic Strength-** _to augment user's physical strength_

Telekinetic Bullet Projection-projecting telekinetic energy as bullets

 **Telekinetic Choking** - _to strangle someone with telekinesis_

 **Telekinetic Grip-** _To grasp an object firmly in place_

 **Telekinetic Maneuver-** _to alter an object's directional course_

 **Telekinetic Pull & Push-** _to pull or push objects away from user_

Molecular Manipulation-to manipulate matter at molecular level

Telekinetic Aura/Sense-To sense one's surroundings with telekinesis

 **Telekinetic Compression-** _to crush an object_

Telekinetic Blast **-** to emit telekinetic energy as a blast

Telekinetic Destruction-to make an object explode

Telekinetic Flight-using telekinesis to fly

 **Psionic Explosion** - _to create/discharge psychic energy across a wide range_

 **Telepathy, mentally receive or transmit information: Power Level=Adept**

 **Mind Reading** - _ability to read the thoughts of others (Range:500ft)_

 **Memory Reading** _-the ability to read the target's memories_

Psychic Communication-the ability to secretly converse with others

Telepathic Speaking-to speak aloud using the mind

 **Download** _-the ability to process/download information of another person (untrained-If used in a violent or angry mood, can harm the victim)_

 **Knowledge Replication** - _the ability to replicate learned knowledge and skills_

Knowledge Projection-the ability to project knowledge to another

 **Rapid brain activity** - _the ability to process and understand information at incredible rates_

Mental Inducement-The ability to temporarily put the targets mind into the wanted state

Mental Hallucination-the ability to cause mental hallucinations

Mind Link-the ability to develop a permanent mental bond with any person

Mind Walking/Melding-to enter another's consciousness

 **Precognition awareness-** _six sense awareness of imminent danger_

 **Telepathic Prediction** - _the ability to know a person's moves by reading their brain waves_

Astral Projection-to separate one's mind from their body and explore physical plane

Telepathic Surgery-the ability to perform neuropsychic surgery, healing and/or damaging the mind

Memory/Mental Manipulation-the ability to manipulate a target's memories and mind

Clairvoyance-the ability to gain direct visual information through non-physical means

Foresight-the ability to foresee possible future events and observe what may happen

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHIELD or any Marvel Properties, they belong to their respective owners, I'm just a fan.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is Chapter 3. Will embarks on a journey through Rook Islands to save his remaining friends from Vaas and his pirates. Along the way, he gets put in the middle of the Island's civil war and the lines between right and wrong blend together. It'll be up to Will to survive this ordeal and discover a surprising secret about the island that he shares a history with. If he can do this with his sanity intact is another question. Enjoy!**

 **The Perfect One: The definition of insanity**

 **Rook Islands, Southeast Asia: June 2011**

Will had three friends who were safe: Grant, Daisy, and Angel but there were still 7 missing. Angel and Daisy would safe with the Doctor for now but Will needed to find the others and on an island this massive, they could be anywhere. Will left Daisy to rest as Doctor Earnhardt gave her the medicine for the poison. He walked downstairs and grabbed the sat phone to call Denis, hoping he had another lead.

" _William, did you find your friend?"_ Dennis asked.

"Yeah, they're fine. Thank you, Dennis." Will replied.

" _You made this happen, not me. It is your victory."_ Dennis told him.

"Did you manage to find any kind of lead on my other friends? Is there a way I can search for them? Anything to help me find them?" Will asked.

" _You know, William, the pirates use a satellite dish for communication on the Medusa. You could enter the comm room and listen in on the signal."_ Dennis told him.

"What's the Medusa?" Will asked.

" _An old ship that was beached nearby. It's on the south west part of the island, look at your map it should be marked. It will be heavily guarded and the pirates will signal for help if they see you. Follow the path of the warrior, William. Train your body and your mind will follow. The tatau will bring you closer."_ Dennis told him as he ended the call.

"I wonder if he smokes what he sells." Will said to himself as he pocketed the sat phone. Will saw the Doctor had a Weapon's locker in the corner so he walked over to see if he had anything he could use for a stealth operation. He opened it and saw several Colt 1911 pistols, suppressor attachments, red dot and recon sights for rifles, a Mossberg shotgun, two AK-47s, an AR-15, a recurve hunting bow with a quiver of arrows, empty magazine clips and boxes of ammunition.

Will grabbed the suppressor and attached it to his 6P9 pistol. He grabbed some extra pistol clips and decided to switch out the AK-47 for the AR-15 and put a red dot sight and a suppressor on it. He replaced his AK-47 ammo with AR-15 ammo but before he closed the weapon's locker, he took the bow and quiver.

"Let's give it a shot." Will said as he strapped the quiver to his back and left Doctor Earnhardt's house. The sun was just coming up as Will got on an ATV and drove to the Medusa's coordinates. He drove to the coordinates and when he was about 200 meters away, he parked his ATV on the side of the road by a tree and slowly made his way along the road by the water until he saw the large and rusted ship in the distance.

He stuck to the brush to stay out of sight and moved as slow as possible to avoid being spotted. He sat behind a large boulder, took the bow and quiver and placed it on the ground, took out the camera and began scoping out the area. He saw about 6 pirates around the ship. Two had blowtorches and tools and seemed to be trying to remove spare parts of the ship. The other pirates were on patrol or were relaxing. He noticed two were wearing different clothes and seemed to boss the other two around. Those two must have what he needs to access the satellite room.

"All right. Not that hard." Will said as he put the camera away. He held the bow and put the quiver on his back. He slowly made his way closer as he saw one of the pirates making his way over to a tree to take a piss. Will put an arrow on the draw string and pulled back. He let loose and the arrow hit the pirate in the head, killing him instantly and quietly as his body fell into the brush.

Will kept moving as he killed the pirate by the water with an arrow to the neck. Will then aimed an arrow at the furthest pirate who was inside the old wreckage of the ship. Will fired his shot in the air and used his telekinesis to guide the arrow a little further and it hit the pirate in the heart. Will then fire the last three arrows in rapid succession and killed all the pirates. Will looked at the bow and at his handiwork.

"I now get why Barton likes this thing." Will said as he walked over to the lieutenants and took out the frequency key numbers to the satellite room. He walked up to the ship and over to the communication board and put in the code, opening up the channel.

" _Vaas is recording ransom videos at P.C. He's ransoming them? I was told to line up buyers. Do it. After the money from the parents shows up, the kids go onto the black market and we deliver them to the buyers. Double the money, daddy likes."_ Will heard the pirates say to one another.

"You're gonna not going to be enjoying money in hell." Will said as he took out the camera and the laptop from his backpack. He found an Ethernet cable and plugged it into the laptop as he began using the satellite link to open a secure network communication channel to contact the outside. He was high jacking the pirates signal and was going to get a secure line to contact SHIELD but couldn't get through the firewall on an unfamiliar line so he decided to try and contact Tony.

" _Hey! Can the chatter! Someone triggered an alarm at the Medusa, you morons! We're closest. I can see it right now."_ The chatter over the radio said as an alarm went off.

"Crap." Will said as the line to STARK industries was still trying to connect. "Come on, come on."

" _This is Mr. Stark's secured line. Please hang up or I will contact the authorities."_ Will heard Jarvis say as he quickly picked up the radio.

"Jarvis don't hang up! It's me, Will Detmer." Will shouted.

" _Good evening, Mr. Detmer. How are you enjoying your vacation?"_ Jarvis asked.

"It sucks. Where's Tony?" Will asked.

" _I'm afraid Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts are on a vacation of their own and gave me implicit instructions not to interrupt them."_ Jarvis told him.

"Jarvis, my friends and I were taken captive by pirates on this Island about 80 miles off the coast of Thailand. They're human traffickers, killers and the whole island is a giant drug operation. I managed to get free and save some of my friends but the others are still missing. The whole island has signal scramblers and I just managed to get to a sat line to call you." Will said.

" _Oh dear. If I may say, Mr. Detmer, it would appear you have rotten luck."_ Jarvis said as Will quickly ducked to avoid the hail of bullets blasting through the windows.

"Shit!" Will shouted as he took cover.

" _Is everything all right, Mr. Detmer?"_ Jarvis asked.

"I'm being shot at, what do you think?! They're swarming my location. Jarvis, I'm sending you the location on the island as well as everything I managed to get about this place and its leader. You need to get this to SHIELD immediately." Will said as he attached the pictures and the location of the island into a file and sent it straight to Jarvis.

" _Data packet received, sir. I'll contact them immediately. How will they contact you?"_ Jarvis asked as Will quickly put the laptop and camera in his backup.

"I'll try to work out a signal to contact you again. Once that happens, just patch me through to SHIELD!" Will shouted as he shut the radio off. The door to the satellite room opened as Will pulled out his pistol and shot the three pirates who entered. Will vaulted over the terminal and shot his last bullet at a fourth pirate. Will grabbed a grenade off the belt of a pirate and stepped out to see there were four pickup trucks in the sand and two had heavy machine guns on them.

"Fire!" A pirate shouted as Will ducked back into the room. He ran over to grab his bag when looked at the radio and got an idea. He ripped out the satellite uplink from the console. He checked it over and it was intact, knowing it would come in handy later. He put it in his pack as he concentrated and summoned a force field around his body.

Will then ran forward and jumped through the window of the control room and over the railing. The pirates shot at him but their bullets bounced off the force field. As Will fell through the air, he pulled the pin and threw the grenade at one of the trucks. It landed near the tire and went off, destroying the truck and causing truck right next to it to explode. Will landed on the ground as the pirates kept firing but Will raised his hands and stopped the bullets in mid-air. He closed his fist and the bullets flew back at the pirates, killing them all.

Will's satellite phone went off and he saw it was Dennis calling him. "Hey, Dennis. Your tip paid off. Now the pirates sent a message—"

" _William, Vaas wants us dead. There's no time to talk. Come to Amanaki village. We need your help."_ Dennis told him as he hung up

"It's always something." Will said as he got on his ATV and drove back to the village. He walked into the village to see all the women and children hiding in homes while Dennis and the Rakyat warriors were arming themselves.

"Dennis, what's going on?" Will asked.

"Vaas prepares to attack our village. He is gathering weapons even as we speak now." Dennis told him.

"All right, I'll help but I need your help afterward. Vaas is ransoming my friends at someplace called PC but plans to sell them anyway." Will said as Dennis nodded.

"Then we still have some time." Dennis told him as a Rakyat warrior walked over to him.

"William, you must help us. The Rakyat will be murdered. If you can sabotage the weapons, it'll weaken Vaas and make him much easier to kill." He said as Will nodded.

"Ok, where are the weapons?" Will asked.

"The pirates stock weapons in the logging camp in the jungle. It is also where they keep a lot of their treasure so it will be heavily guarded. Shut off the alarm first, ok? If it is triggered, they will secure the weapons shed and call in reinforcements. Steal the explosives and then destroy the weapons." Dennis said as Will nodded.

Will got on the ATV and drove to the coordinates of the logging camp. He parked his ATV down the road and took a route through the jungle to avoid being seen. He crouched low and slowly made his way over to the camp and saw a tower up ahead with a sniper. He snuck up next to a tree and took out the camera to scope out any more guards. He saw another pirate by a small outhouse on the hill followed by two guards who were walking the perimeter. He then saw two more pirates by the east gate, one on the west hill, 5 walking throughout the camp, one guard each for two alarms, and lastly there were 3 guards by the river for a total of 17 guards all armed with assault rifles or shotguns and the two guards by the alarms would hit them the second they saw something off. This would take patience and skill.

Will slowly crouched forward, staying as quiet as possible as he closed in on the sniper tower. He waited as the sniper moved away from the ladder when he made his move. He slowly climbed the ladder, got behind the pirate, and stabbed him in the neck with the machete and pulled him out of sight. He laid the body down on the floor and out of sight as he then used the zip line to move to the outhouse. He landed on the ground and killed the pirate with another silent takedown. He saw the pirate on the west hill, overlooking the camp and got an idea. He took a knife from the dead pirate's belt and levitated it in the air. He looked at the pirate and flexed his hand as the knife flew through the air like a bullet and hit the pirate in the heart, killing him instantly and quietly.

Will decided to take out the two pirates walking the perimeter of the camp. He waited until they crossed paths and kept walking. Will got behind one pirate and killed him with a machete to the neck, then pulled the knife from the pirate's belt and threw it at the other pirate and killed him with a knife to the back of the head. He pulled out his silenced pistol killed the two pirates by the east gate with two silenced head shots. He then slowly walked through the camp, sticking to the corners or shadows as the five guards walk the interior of the camp. He noticed the timing and spacing of their movements along with the two guards by the alarms, they'd spot him once he'd begin his attack. Will decided to use his powers, so he took out a spare magazine from his belt, took out 7 bullets and put them in his hand.

Will looked at the pirates walking around and concentrated as the bullets floated in his hand. They then shot through the air in different directions and each found its way into a pirate's skull, killing them with a head shot. Will holstered his pistol and readied his AR-15 as he moved to take out the last three guards by the river. He slowly moved forward and aimed his rifle at them. When he got close enough, one of the pirates saw him but before he could ready his weapon or warn his friends, Will shot him in the chest three times and then killed the other two with chest and head shots and they fell to the ground dead or their bodies fell into the water.

Will put the rifle over his shoulder and disarmed the two alarms. Will pulled out the satellite phone and walked over to one of the big houses where the weapons would be. "Dennis, the pirates are dead, and the alarm is deactivated." Will said.

" _Excellent. Now tell me about your friends?"_ Dennis asked.

"The radio said Vaas was recording ransom videos at P.C." Will told him.

" _P.C? P.C….Pirates cove. But we call it Sunset Cove. That's one of their prisons_." Dennis told him.

"Got it." Will said.

" _Meet me at Amanaki Village and I'll show you on the map. Remember, William, the strength you receive from the Path will help you succeed."_ Dennis told him as he hung up.

"Geez that guy is weird." Will said as he opened the door and instead of finding a huge room of weapons, he found a room full of gold, money, gems, and other expensive or treasured items. He just found one of their stash houses. "Holy shit."

He walked over to one of the containers and opened it to see it was full of money. "Jesus, where did they get all this stuff?" Will asked himself.

He kept moving and saw that there were likely millions if not billions of dollars' worth of treasure the pirates had pillaged and taken. He walked over and saw a high-grade military container. He opened it and saw several high-tech glass containers that were holding large shards of some kind of weird metal ore. There were a total of 10 glass containers holding the ore while there were 3 extra that weren't in containers. "Hello, what's this?" Will ask as he picked up the metal and despite its size, was very light. "What on earth are you?"

It was a bluish/black glowing metal but not the same kind that gave him his powers, this was something else. Will felt that it was important and since he didn't know what it was, he decided to take it and figure out later. He put the metal back in the container and wheeled it out of the safe house and into a nearby pick-up truck. He levitated the container into the trunk and strapped it in place when he looked back.

"It'd be a shame to let it go to waste." Will said to himself with a smile as he walked back into the shed. He spent a good 15 minutes in there and walked out with six large duffel bags of cash on his back, and 11 chests of gold and gems levitating behind him. He put them in the truck and then walked over to the other large shed. He walked in and saw it was the weapons cabin.

"Ok, here we go." Will said as he walked over and saw some C4, a detonator, and blasting wire. He quickly set up some C-4 around the cabin, wrapped some blasting wire around key areas and set up the detonator to the C-4 charge. He walked out of the weapons cabin and went to the jeep. He started the car and pressed the detonator charge as the weapons cabin exploded in a blaze of fire, smoke, and metal, robbing the pirates of a lot of ordinance.

He drove away and back to Amanaki Village as the fire and smoke from the Pirate compound filled the sky. Will parked outside the village and walked in to see Dennis talking to some Rakyat warriors.

"William, well done. The tribe is very impressed with your deeds. Now, show me your map." Dennis said as Will took it out. "Sunset Cove is here, approximately 8 Kilometers to the south west. If Vaas is ransoming your friends at P.C. this is where he is doing it. Be careful though, the pirates will have the entire area heavily defended."

"Thanks, Dennis." Will said as he saw Grant walk out of a hut with crutches and his leg in a brace. "Grant!"

"Will!" Grant shouted as Will ran over and hugged him. "Man, it's good to see you. They told me you were alive but you were gone."

"Yeah, I'm back now. How's the leg?" Will asked.

"Fine. They managed to set it back but I'll have to stay off it for a while. It's a good thing I only managed to escape with a broken leg." Grant said as he noticed all of Will's weapons. "Jesus, did you rob an armory?"

"No, some necessary equipment when fighting against drug dealing, kidnapping pirates. And I know how to handle myself. You went into the army; I went into the Intelligence sector." Will told him.

"Spy? You're a spy?" Grant asked.

"Sort of a spy in training. It's a long story." Will said as his phone went off and the Caller ID recognized it as Doctor Earnhardt. "Dr. Earnhardt?"

" _Will, it's me."_ Daisy said.

"Daisy are you, all right? How's Angel?" Will asked.

"Daisy's there?" Grant said as Will nodded.

" _I'm fine, we're fine. Don't worry. The Doctor's medicine fixed me up right as rain. I borrowed the Doctor's phone. How's the search going?"_ Daisy asked.

"I'm getting closer. I think I have a way to find the rest of our friends." Will told him.

" _Good. The doctor moved me and Angel to this cave under his house. It's safer, since the pirates come to buy from him all the time. But get this, I found something down here. You have to see it."_ Daisy told him as Will looked at Grant.

"I'll be right there. With Grant. He's fine. Here." Will said as he handed Grant the phone.

"Baby." Grant said as he heard Daisy's voice and he was beyond relieved, crying tears of joy. "Yeah, I'm ok. Leg's just a little banged up. Yeah, Will saved me too."

Will smiled as he was happy that Grant and Daisy both made it alive. God knows the torment Daisy would have gone through had Will's powers not detected that bullet. "I'm glad your safe too. We'll be right there. I love you, baby." Grant said as he handed the phone to Will.

"Don't worry, Daisy. We're coming back." Will told her as he hung up. "Come on."

Will helped Grant through the village and they made it to his jeep. He helped him into the passenger seat as Grant noticed all the bags and chests. "What? More weapons?" Grant asked as Will got in the driver's seat.

"No, just some spoils of war." Will said as he opened up a duffel bag to show it was full of money as Grant's eyes widened. "It's be a shame to let it go to waste."

"Always thinking ahead aren't you, Will?" Grant asked.

"Best way to stay alive." Will said as he started the car and drove to Doctor Earnhardt's place.

The drive took a bit but luckily, they didn't run into any pirate patrols so that was good news. When Will got closer to Doctor Earnhardt's house, he took the road to the side that stopped near the edge of the cliff. He helped Grant out of the truck as he saw the small alcove entrance that likely led to the small cave Daisy mentioned. They slowly walked into the cave to see it was set up with a campfire, lit oil lanterns, sleeping bags, some tents, containers of water and some food. And they saw what Daisy wanted them to see and it was an old boat. And by old, more like ancient as the entire thing was covered in grime and looked like it hadn't been used in years.

"Daisy, Angel!" Will shouted as Daisy and Angel who were on the boat saw Will and Grant enter.

"Grant!" Daisy shouted as she ran over and hugged him with all her might as she cried tears of joy. "Thank god you're ok."

"Me too, babe. But could you not hold me so tight. Still little banged up." Grant said as Daisy backed up and saw his leg. "Don't worry, just broken. It's better this than a bullet. Will save me."

"Then it's a good thing he did." Angel said as she hugged him.

"Is that what you wanted to show me?" Will asked, pointing to the boat.

"Yeah, isn't it great? If we can repair it, we have our ticket off the island." Daisy said.

"More like to the bottom of the ocean." Will told her as Daisy looked at him. "Besides, I have a better idea. I'll be right back."

Will returned to the truck and levitated it inside the cave by the entrance so to make moving everything a lot easier. He grabbed his backpack with the laptop, satellite uplink console he stole from the Medusa, and a radio and walked over to them. He put them on a makeshift table for them to see. "That's you're better idea?" Angel asked.

"Look, even if we could get off the island with that hunk of junk, Vaas and his pirates have boats with big guns, even mortars and RPG's." Will told them as Grant nodded.

"We'd be sitting ducks and back where we started." Grant said as Will nodded.

"Or worse. But the satellite uplink let me hijack the frequency the pirates use to communicate. With a little tinkering, I might be able to contact some friends who can send reinforcements with guns to help and take us home." Will said as Daisy and Angel liked the idea.

"Think you can do it?" Daisy asked.

"Definitely. But I need to find the others first. We're not leaving them here." Will said as they nodded. "All right. I got a location on where they may be. You guys stay here."

"Wait, I'm coming with you." Grant said as Daisy stopped him.

"Grant, stop. Your leg is broken." Daisy told him.

"I've been through worse. I'm trained army and we don't let brothers go into fights by themselves." Grant told her.

"Yeah, but with that leg you'll be a liability. Especially in the terrain these pirates work in." Will told him as he walked up and pats Grant on the shoulder. "I can do this, Grant. The training and experience I have makes this a cakewalk for me. Stay here and protect Daisy and Angel."

"All right, stay safe brother." Grant told him as they hugged.

"I'll bring Riley back. Don't worry." Will told him.

"So, what do we do? Just sit here and wait?" Angel asked as Will nodded.

"That's all you can do. The truck has a radio, should help past the time. And there's this." Will said as they walked over to the truck and he opened one of the chests to show gold and jewels and opened up one of the duffel bags to show a lot of money.

"Oh my god." Angel said as she was shocked.

"Where did you get all that?" Daisy asked.

"Blew up a weapons depot that belonged to the pirates and found one of their treasure troves. Figured it'd be a shame to let it go to waste." Will said with a smirk as Angel grabbed a ruby the size of her hand.

"I think that was a very smart decision on your part." Angel said as Daisy walked over and picked up a diamond.

"Wow." Daisy said.

"We've been through hell, but we're all going to make it home. I promise you. And we won't be going home empty handed. Count what's here. It'll help past the time. I'll see you guys when I get back. With our friends." Will said as he walked to the cave entrance.

"Will!" Daisy called as Will turned. "Be careful."

"Always." Will said as he left. Since the truck was going to stay here, Will grabbed the spare ATV near the Doctor's house and drove to Pirate's Cove. As he got close, he parked it on the side of the road and slowly made his way through the brush and saw a lookout post with a guard sitting in a chair, smoking a cigarette. He slowly got behind the pirate and then put him in a headlock, squeezing until he stopped moving. Will grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked around and saw there were probably dozens of pirates down there on patrols and more inside as well.

He saw two alarm posts around the camp and he couldn't risk them calling out for help. So, using the binoculars to get a clear view of the alarms, he crushed them to bits using his telekinesis. But this did draw the attention of some nearby pirates who heard the sound and saw the alarms were destroyed. Will took the zip line down to the beach and got his AR-15 ready as he slowly made his way through camp. He got up behind one pirate and stabbed him in the neck with his machete, then did a throwing knife takedown on another. Will kept moving as he saw four pirates grouped together so he got up behind one and killed him with his machete. He then quickly killed the second one with his machete, then took out his pistol and shot the other two pirates dead.

Will saw some pirates grouped by a gasoline barrel when he heard shouting as one of the pirates saw him in their camp and they started shooting at him. Will fired his AR-15 at the gas barrel and blew it up, killing a few pirates as he moved through the camp, shooting pirates after pirate he got in his crosshairs. He used his SHIELD training to expertly move through the area, using trained trigger pulls and breathing as he killed three pirates with several shots to the body before he ducked and turned to shot another pirate in the leg and then finished him with a head shot. He moved forward as he took cover behind an old barrel. Will ejected his spent clip and loaded a new one as he then rolled out from his cover and shot four more pirates full of bullets as his force field blocked any stray or direct shots from the remaining pirates.

Will ran forward and shot two more pirates full of bullets as he vaulted over a barrel and rolled back to his feet, then killing two more pirates with headshots. He saw a grenade on the ground so he threw it to the other side of the cove and it exploded, killing 2 more pirates. He then used the rest of his clip and killed the last four pirates outside the cove. He ejected the spent clip and loaded a fresh one in his rifle as he moved into the cave and killed two pirates with machetes who tried to rush him. Will quickly took cover behind a cargo container as two pirates rushed him with shotguns. He then knelt and peaked out behind cover and shot them full of bullets.

He moved through the cave and saw the pirates had retrofitted it for their purposes with cargo container, tables, cots, and essentially made it one of their bases they could push drugs from. Will moved through the cave as he hugged the cave wall by a corner and heard 5 pirates whispering amongst each other. Will held out his fist and concentrated as it began glowing blue. He concentrated more and more as the glowing got more intense and the air around his fist began to distort and ripple. Will then came out from the cover and threw out his hand, aiming to send a massive force wave and he did but he also sent a blast of blue energy from his hand that ripped straight through their metal and rock cover. It blasted through the air and smashed through the nearest pirate like a bullet, making a hole the size of Will's fist. The energy beam kept traveling as it killed the other pirates and blasted the reinforced door to the next room off its hinges. It hit it with so much force that it was sent flying across the room and squished two pirates who didn't get out of the way.

Will was astonished as he saw his new power do all that and he didn't even mean it. He looked at his hand as it was glowing from his blue telekinetic energy. "Cool. New power." Will said to himself as he kept moving into the new room and saw no pirates, just drugs and guns. He kept moving down the hall and heard Clarice's voice, so he moved with more haste but when he turned the corner, all he saw was a projector playing what looked like the ransom video Vaas made for Clarice. Will checked the area and saw there were no pirates just empty cages, a table with money and guns and the projector and speaker playing Clarice's ransom video with Tabby and James in the background.

"Mother fucker!" Will shouted as he crushed the projector with his telekinesis. "Tabby! Clare! James! It's me, Will!"

Will's adrenaline and anger rose as he moved to the next room and saw it the room the video was made in but was empty. "Guys, where are you?!" Will shouted as he moved through the room when his danger sense went off and he heard beeping. He looked to his side and saw a large pack of C4 charges around the room, so he dove behind some cover and raised his shield as the C4 went off, causing a huge explosion. Will shouted as he did his best to keep his shield up as the explosion and falling debris bombed his shield. His shield stayed strong despite the blasts of the explosion and impact of debris causing him some mental strain, but his continuous training strengthened him to the point where he could handle something like this.

The explosion subsided as Will lowered his shield and saw the scorch marks and residual embers of the fire and smell of explosive residue. He saw light from the sun shine through as the explosion must have blown open the door to some secret exit, so Will continued onward with his gun out. He saw the exit was another door, but the explosion caused part of the ceiling to collapse on it. He looked and saw that if he used his telekinesis to move the debris, it could cause the ceiling to cave in, so he reluctantly crawled through the small opening.

Which was a bad idea because when he was halfway through, his danger sense went off again and he felt a stinging prick in his neck. He reached up and grabbed whatever hit him in the neck and he saw it was a tranquillizer dart.

"Oh, crap." Will said as he felt the drug start to kick in. He managed to crawl out of the doorway and stand up as he began to feel dizzy. He tried to use his powers to create a shield but because of the drugs, his powers were sporadic as the blue energy of his telekinesis flickered like a dying candle. His precognition was gone as he felt another prick and saw another dart him in the arm before he fell to the ground, his vision slowly getting blurry when he saw pirates walk out of the foliage and over to him before he passed out.

Line Break xxxxx

Will blinked his eyes a bit as he began to wake up, his vision blurry and a little heavy but was getting better. His head felt like it was run over by a truck as the drugs from whatever they used in that tranquilizer dart were still in his system but was starting to abate. He could move his body but his head still felt a bit scrambled and he wished it would hurry up because he awoke to find himself in some old, rundown building he didn't recognize. He was tied to a chair with Tabby, Clarice, and James tied up and gagged across from him, three pirates armed with assault rifles in the same room and Vaas pouring a canister of gasoline all over while whistling a tune.

Will tried to use his telekinesis to subtly untie his restraints but the drugs were messing with his powers as he managed to tug on the rope holding his left leg in place. Vaas then came around, pouring gas around him and his friends before throwing the container at Will, slashing him all over.

"Pftt!" Will spit the gas out of his mouth as he shook his head to get the gasoline out of his face as Vaas took out a lighter and played with it.

"Who give you that ink, hmm?" Vaas asked as Will looked at his the tattoo on his arm. "I asked you a question, who give you that ink, hmm? Citra give you that ink, huh? You think that makes you one of us? You think that makes you like me, huh? Jersey shore boy got a hard-on for jungle fever. I'm gonna drive a bullet through my sisters' skull, like I'll do to your friends."

"Screw you, you psycho." Will said as he needed to buy some time to free himself from his restraints as he kept using his telekinesis to slowly undo his leg restraints. "I don't give a damn about your sister, the Rakyat or this fucking island. I just want my friends."

"I like you, Will. You've got a pair on you. More so than your little friends here." Vaas said as he stood up and ran his hand over Tabby's face. She pulled away in fear as Will struggled in his chair, wanting nothing more than to kill him. His left leg rope was now untied so he focused on his right leg. "And you're angry. I get that. I mean, you seem to genuinely care about your friends. I like that, no I respect that. Friends are like family. I mean, without family who the fuck are we?"

Vaas stood up as he began monologuing which Will played along with as he felt his powers coming back. "There was a time I would do anything for my sister, you know? First time I ever killed was for my sister. But that was not enough for her. No, no, no, no, no, please. You see the thing about our loved ones, right? OUR FUCKING LOVED ONES, they come and they blindside you every fucking time. So they say to me, they say, VAAS! VAAS! WHO THE FUCK IS IT GOING TO BE? Them or me! ME or them!" Vaas shouted as he went from zero to crazy in a matter of seconds.

"Like, you know, like they fucking think that I need to make a fucking choice." Vaas said as his lighter wasn't working. "By the way, this lighter really sucks. Piece of shit."

Vaas tossed it to one of his men. "So much for poetics. It's really too bad that Citra had to ink you up. Because now the only way to kill you is to erase you completely." Vaas said as he walked over to Tabby when the rope on Will's right leg undid itself so Will decided to act.

"Geez, you sister must have really screwed you over badly for you to do this over some little ink." Will said as Vaas and Will's friends looked at him. "Granted I've also been killing your men and genuinely been making life a living hell for you since you kidnapped us so I guess that's fair."

"Oh, so the Jersey boy's got a mouth on him." Vaas said as he walked over to him.

"No, I just have a habit of being a smartass. But hey, these locals are a little crazy of my taste so by all means fight them to your heart's desire. But can I give you a small piece of advice?" Will asked as Vaas chuckled.

"Ok, you amuse me. What advice do you have to give me before I cut your tongue out?" Vaas asked as he took out a knife and held it up near Will's face.

"You should never monologue." Will said as he head-butted Vaas in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him back. Will then kicked Vaas in the chest and sent him flying into his men and causing his knife to fly in the air. Will used his telekinesis to send it flying into the nearest pirate, killing him with a fatal knife throw to the heart. Will ripped his hands free of the rope, grabbed the chair and threw it at a Vaas and the other pirates as he grabbed the knife and pistol from the dead pirate and quickly cut Tabby, Clarice, and James free.

Vaas then stood up and aimed his pistol as Will saw him. "Go! GO!" Will shouted as he saw the gasoline all over and got an idea. He fired a bullet at a gas trail, causing it to light up and a wall of fire separated him and his friends from Vaas and the others.

"MOTHER FUCKER!" Vaas and his men fired their guns as Will and his friends ran through the now burning floor until they came upon a dead end, or more accurately, their only way out by jumping onto adjacent scaffolding.

"No, I can't do this!" Tabby shouted as Will heard the bullets still coming and the fire getting worse.

"It's the only way down! Come on!" Will shouted as they all backed up a bit, then ran forward and jumped onto the scaffolding but their combined weight caused the wood to give out and they tumbled to the ground. Will actually jumped over the scaffolding and floated to the ground as he levitated his friends down after the scaffolding broke and they all fell to the ground, safely and with no harm.

"You guys, ok?!" Wilk asked as he helped them up.

"I think so." Clarice said as Will saw a pickup truck.

"There, truck! GO!" Will shouted as they ran to the truck. Will saw a pirate standing by it and shot him in the head with his pistol.

"Oh my god, you killed him. "Clarice said as Will heard more pirates coming.

"GET IN!" Will shouted as he grabbed the pirate's AK-47 and ammo belt as James got in the driver's seat, Clarice in the side passenger seat and Tabby in the back. James tried to turn the car on but nothing.

"It won't start." James said as Will growled.

"Why can't anything be easy?" Will said as he pushed the truck to get it moving. He kept pushing when it started up as Will jumped in the truck bed. James drove off as the building they were being held captive in burned down. "HA! Take that you fucker!"

James drove them away when the pirates shot their guns at them, some of the bullets hitting the car and windows. "Tabby, Clarice, stay down! Will shouted as he fired back with the Ak-47 and killed a few of them as James drove them away down the road. Will then noticed a military box in the truck and opened it to see a GL-94 grenade launcher. He took it out and checked the slide to see it was loaded. "Sweet!"

Will fired a grenade as it killed a few pirates. He pumped the grenade launcher, expelling the spent shell as they made their escape. As they drove away, Will saw jeeps and trucks filled with pirates chase after them. He fired another grenade at the nearest jeep, causing it to explode and kill the pirates.

"What's going on back there?!" James shouted as Will pumped the grenade launcher.

"Traffic control!" Will shouted as he fired another grenade and destroyed a pirate pickup truck. He loaded the grenade launcher as more pirate vehicles chased after them.

"They're shooting at us!" Tabby shouted.

"Guess I must have pissed off Vaas!" Will shouted as he destroyed another vehicle. "Keep driving, James! You're doing great!"

"Where are we going?!" James shouted as he took a turn down a road and the pirates followed.

"Anywhere but here!" Will shouted as he destroyed another jeep.

"What are you doing, Will?!" Clarice shouted.

"Keeping us alive! It's ok!" Will shouted as he fired another grenade and blew up two jeeps close to each other. "Faster, James!"

"We're going too fast as is!" Clarice shouted.

"Says who, the cops?!" Will shouted as he fired another grenade and destroyed another vehicle. James took another turn as three more jeeps showed up but grouped together so Will fired another grenade and destroyed the jeeps. James kept driving as Will didn't see any more vehicles chasing after them. "I think that's all of them. Hell yeah! Those mother fuckers never knew who they messed with!"

James kept driving another mile down the road until he stopped as Tabby and Clarice jumped out of the car, shaking and trying to calm down from the adrenaline and emotional high they just went through.

"Oh my god. I think I'm going to be sick." Tabby said as she was bent over, about the heave.

"It's ok, Tabby." Will said as he walked over and pat her back as she shot up and hugged him. "I'm glad you guys are ok."

"Thank god you came for us." She said as Clarice came over and hugged him too.

"God this is a nightmare." Clarice said as Will hugged them close.

"It's not. But you guys are ok. That's all that matters." Will said as James came over and hugged him as Will hugged back. "Do you guys know where the others are?"

"They took Bobby and Alex to someplace called the bunker. I'm not sure about Keith or Daisy." Tabby said.

"What about Riley?" Will asked.

"I don't know." Clarice said, causing Will to sigh. Three of their friends were still missing.

"Ok, don't worry. We'll get them. I found Daisy and the others. They're safe. Come on." Will said as they got back in the car and Will drove them to Doctor Earnhardt's manor and to the cave entrance near the cliff. Will, Tabby, Clarice, and James walked in to see Grant, Daisy, and Angel sitting by a fire and eating some food while the radio played. "Guys, I'm back."

There was a huge relief moment as Tabby, Clarice, and James was happy to see Grant, Daisy, and Angel alive and vice versa. After a few minutes of relief and happiness that the other was alive, Grant noticed they were still three short.

"Where's Riley?" Grant asked.

"He's still missing." Will said.

"Along with Keith, Alex, and Bobby. But I'll find them, guys. Don't worry about it. For now, just stay here and stay safe. Vaas is going to be out for blood after our escape but it's nothing I can't handle." Will said as they nodded Daisy got Tabby, Clarice, and James settled in as Will walked over to the laptop, radio and satellite uplink and got to work on scrapping together some kind of communications device to contact Jarvis again.

He sat down in a chair in front of a table littered with spare parts the Doctor managed to scrounge up. Will manage to take apart the radio and jerry-rig a makeshift communications station and connect it to the laptop. He then used the pick-up truck's car battery to power the satellite uplink and began encrypting a signal to send to Jarvis. Will waited a few more minutes for the signal to finish encrypting and then called Jarvis again.

Will waited a few seconds when the call connected. " _Hello?"_ Jarvis answered.

"Jarvis, it's me Will. I managed to get someplace safe with some of my friends and work out an encrypted signal." Will said, using the radio microphone to speak.

" _Excellent work on the signal, Mr. Detmer. And may I say it's nice to hear you are alive and well."_ Jarvis said as Will smiled.

"Thanks, Jarvis. Did you manage to get in contact with SHIELD?" Will asked as his friend saw him using the radio to talk to someone.

" _Yes, I did. I'm connecting you right now. I also looked at the visual files you sent me and have a brief data packet for you if you wish to see it."_ Jarvis said.

"That's fine. It'd be a better idea to know what the hell I'm dealing with." Will said as Jarvis sent the data packet over the encrypted line and Will saw it appear on the laptop. "Got it."

Will opened the file to see Jarvis had accumulated a lot of data on the island and the illegal pirate's operation. "Wow, that's a lot of drugs." Will said as he looked over the files.

" _Yes, it is, Mr. Detmer. The man in the photo you sent me is known as Vaas Montenegro. The DEA has a file on him as he is the right hand man to someone known as Hoyt Volker. Thanks to your actions in France, Mr. Volker now runs the world's largest slave trading operation in the world."_ Jarvis said as the data packet contained a photo of Volker along with a lot of information. This man was being watched and under investigation by the DEA, Interpol NIA, DSI, and CSD of Thailand. _"Along with his slave trading ring, he also happens to be the largest purveyor of drugs in the entire Pacific area."_

"Jesus, the weeds just keep on coming. I think you were right about me having bad luck, Jarvis." Will said.

" _While I don't believe in such a thing, given your brief track record it's hard to dispute the claim. Hoyt Volker has the entire chain of islands you are on under his control and has managed to avoid arrest and prosecution because he has middle men deal with his buyers to avoid capture."_ Jarvis said.

"Well he's going to regret taking me and my friend's captive." Will said as the encrypted line to SHIELD finally connected.

" _This is SHIELD Tower 779 to William Detmer, please authenticate."_ The Shield Operator said as Will's friend anxiously waited to hear what happened next.

"William Detmer, responding. Temporary identification 6-Bravo-0-Tango-Charlie-7-9. Confirm authentication?" Will asked as he waited for a response.

" _Authentication confirmed. Transferring line."_ The operator said as the line was transferred.

" _Will, good to hear from you. How's paradise?"_ Barton asked, causing Will to chuckle.

"Peachy. Beautiful jungles, lovely wildlife, sun soaked beached with pirates that kidnap you in order to sell you as a slave and to protect their large drug operation. A little hiccup but other than that, just another day in paradise." Will responded as Barton chuckled.

" _Glad to hear you're ok."_ Barton replied.

"Thanks, Barton. So, any chance I can get a SHIELD strike force and a quinjet rescue for me and 10 civilians?" Will asked.

" _At the moment, no."_ Barton said.

"What do you mean no?" Will asked.

" _Fury was made aware of your situation and tasked me with leading your recovery. You know how important you are."_ Barton said.

"Oh, yeah, I'm a regular walking one man army. What do you mean I can't get a pickup right now?" Will asked.

" _Satellite images of the island chain show two highly advanced SAM launchers. One on the northern island and another on the south with a highly advanced radar jammer next to it."_ Barton said as Will sighed in despair.

"Surface to air missile launchers. How far of a range?" Will asked.

" _At least 2 miles. Whoever Volker does business with clearly pays him a lot of money and he spent it wisely. The stealth tech on our quinjets can't beat the radar installation and the council would need a very good reason to deploy the helicarrier to your location other than for one agent in training and 10 civilians."_ Barton told him.

"Glad to know where I stand in the big picture. So, I'm essentially on my own." Will said.

" _Is it any different than when you were in Paris? But I had our SHIELD analysts record all the chatter about Volker's operation and from what we can tell he hasn't sold any of your friends yet, which means they're still on the island. And I might know someone who can help you against Volker. According to our intel, there's supposed to be a CIA deep cover agent embedded in a shanty town on the eastern side of the island. He's been there for years so if anyone knows how to find your friends it'll be him."_ Barton said.

"And how do I get him to help me before he tries to kill me?" Will asked.

" _If you're screwing with Volker, he'll definitely want your help. Just remember your training, you can do this Will."_ Barton said.

"How do I find him?" Will asked.

" _He'll likely be the only American in the shanty town. Good luck, Will."_ Barton said.

"Yeah, thanks Barton. I'll keep you updated." Will said as he ended the transmission. He then turned to his friends who were looking at him. "So, good news is that we'll be getting a rescue. Bad news, it won't be until we find our friends and I screw with Vaas and his boss."

"Seriously?" Angel asked as Will sighed.

"Sorry, guys. But Vaas and his boss have the entire island chain set up with a surface to air missile launcher. If I don't take that out, even with a boat, we'd never make it off the island." Will told them. "And we're not leaving Riley, Keith, Alex or Bobby behind. So, just stay here and stay safe. I'll find the others and then we're heading home."

Will added the new emergency SHIELD contact number to his satellite phone so he could contact Barton from there instead of from the radio. Barton had his SHIELD analysts and the SHIELD Tower recognize his number so Will would be able to call him next time. He bid his friends farewell and then left the cave, grabbing the AK-47 from the truck and drove towards the eastern part of the island when the satellite phone went off. Will checked it and saw it was Dennis.

"Dennis?" Will asked.

" _William. I have tried to reach you many times. What happened?"_ Dennis asked.

"Vaas captured me. He had a trap set up at P.C. I managed to make it out with some of my friends, but he still has the others. Do you have any other leads on where he has the others?" Will asked.

" _I'm sorry my friend but no. I have not heard anything. You have proven yourself strong, William. No man has escaped from Vaas's grasp once, let alone twice. I cannot help you, but I know someone who can."_ Dennis said.

"Who?" Will asked.

" _Citra, the leader of the Rakyat. She can guide you to the center and reveal your true power. She can help you find your friends and give you the power to defeat Vaas and Hoyt."_ Dennis told him.

"I think I'm fine in that department, Dennis. Listen, I appreciate everything you've done for me and my friends, but I'm not a soldier for the Rakyat." Will told him.

" _You are a natural born warrior, William. If was your destiny to find your way to us and now Citra will be the one to guide you and show you your true potential. Only with her help, can you defeat Vaas. Her temple is south in the jungle. I will meet you at the gates."_ Dennis said.

"No, Dennis, I don't think—" Will couldn't finish as Dennis hung up. "Damn it. Why does this stuff happen to me?"

Will decided to amuse Dennis as thanks for all his help. Will drove to the southern part of the island where the map showed old ruins so that might be where the temple is. Will drove down the road when he saw a jeep on the side and Dennis standing there so he stopped the car and went over to him. The two walked to the entrance of an old temple when Dennis halted him before they entered.

"William. Stand still and in plain view. No sudden movement, ok?" Dennis asked.

"Dennis, what the hell is going on?" Will asked when his hearing picked up some movement behind the temple.

"Dennis, who stands beside you?!" Will heard someone shout.

"A young warrior, here to be presented to Citra!" Dennis shouted back.

"Proceed!" The man shouted back as the doors to the temple opened.

"Follow me." Dennis said as Will followed him into the temple. It was an ancient Asian temple with old stone statutes that would be a dream for any archaeologist to discover. Fires were lit as Will saw Rakyat warriors all around, keeping an eye on him. Will couldn't detect any ill intentions at the moment and his danger sense hadn't kicked in, so he kept moving. Eventually, they made their way to a central courtyard and at the center was a large tree, beautiful and looked hundreds of years old.

They kept moving when two Rakyat warriors with AK-47s stopped them. "Dennis! You brought an outside in here!" The warrior shouted.

"I have found the one who will not fail." Dennis said as they pointed their guns at Will.

"Get back!" They said as Will kept his distance.

"Berhenti!" Will heard as a woman stepped up behind the tree and the warriors lowered their guns. Will looked at her and recognized her face as the one from Vaas's compound with the knife stuck in the head. She must be Citra, leader of the Rakyat. "Let me see your arm."

Will raised his left arm, showing the small tattoos that Dennis had made when he saved him. "This is William, the man I've been telling you about." Dennis told him.

"Hi." Will said as the guards shoved their guns back in his face.

"Do they teach you to speak without permission in America?" Citra asked.

"Yes. The same time they teach you it's rude to shove guns in a person's face." Will shot back as Citra walked forward.

"Senapanka bawa." Citra said as they lowered their guns. They stepped aside as Citra walked forward and grabbed his left arm.

"You are brave to joke in the face of death." Citra said as she ran her hand over the tattoo, her unique rock bracelet touching his arm and creating a small spark of blue that went unseen by everyone. "Fine work. I'll give it back to you after I cut it off!"

She pulled a knife and held it against his arm, but Will quickly grabbed her hand and stopped the blade as the guards raised their guns at him. "I've faced death before and this is not it." Will said as he took her knife and threw it on the ground. "Try that again, and I won't be as nice."

Citra let his arm go as she looked him up and down. "Very few outsiders have seen this temple. The inner courtyard, fewer still. Why are you here?" Citra asked.

"Dennis told me to come. He said you could help me stop Vaas and Hoyt and save my friends." Will said as Citra scoffed.

"Is that all? I will not command my army for you. You are a lamb. Not one of us." Citra said to him.

"If I was a lamb, I wouldn't have been making hell for Vaas like I am. Look, I don't give a damn about your stupid war with him, I just want my friends back." Will said as Citra chuckled.

"Very funny. Please leave." Citra said as she walked away.

"Gladly." Will said as he turned to leave.

"William, wait." Dennis said, trying to stop him from leaving.

"Look, Dennis I appreciate everything you've done but this was a mistake. I don't belong here. I better—" Will was cut off as his left arm began to burn. "ARGH!"

"William, what's wrong?" Dennis asked as Will dropped to his knees as his arm began burning like it was being dipped into an inferno. He looked and saw the tattoo base was glowing blue like when he used his powers. His hands began glowing as well as his eyes which meant his powers were activating in response to his tattoo but why was he reacting this way.

"ARGH!" Will shouted as he grabbed his left arm as the tattoo glowed blue and spread up his forearm until it reached about halfway there and stopped. Will's eyes glowed bright blue as he was hit with a series of visions. The visions showed Alex, Keith, Bobby, and Riley, a shanty town, some weird guy tormenting Keith, Vaas antagonizing him, Riley with Hoyt, and then an ancient looking stone dagger and a large blue glowing rock, the same one that gave him his powers before the visions ended.

Will groaned in pain as his head felt like crap. He looked up and saw Dennis staring at him in worry. Will sat up and saw the tattoo had magically spread up his arm, adding in new symbols that weren't there before. "What the hell is happening to me? Did you do this?" Will asked Dennis.

"I did no such thing. The ancient warrior has chosen you." Dennis said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Will asked as Dennis helped him back to his feet.

"It seems you are not a lamb after all, William Detmer." Citra said as she looked at him. "Follow me."

Citra walked into the temple as Will and the guards followed her. They came to a long hallway with ancient murals and paintings on the wall. "Once, long ago, there was a lotus pond filled with clean water. The bank composed of smooth sand and the smell of blossoms moved the air. But blue creatures lived above the pond's surface, devouring any who they came across." Citra told him as Will saw an old mural of the native inhabitants of the island and was looked like strange blue colored creatures coming down from the sky. She then walked over to the other side that showed a man standing against the creatures, but his body was surrounding by a blue fire…similar to the one that activates when Will uses his powers.

"A warrior from the northern kingdom heard of the creatures and vowed to slay them. He traveled to the very heart and bowels of the island. He painted the tatau on his body and took power from the land of the dead. And when he was ready, he walked the path of the lotus pond. The creatures descended from the heavens as the warrior raised his dagger, the very earth beneath rising as he cut the creatures heads clean off their bodies. Their bodies fell to the ground and became our island. The descendants of the warrior, became the Rakyat, our people." Citra told him as Will looked at the wall and saw that the ancient paintings showed the warrior seemed to be move the earth at will…kind of like with telekinesis. "Now, another giant has risen. Prove you are worthy of the tatau. Retrieve that which has been lost and I will give you the power you desire."

Citra turned to leave as Will walked out of the temple. "She is something, is she not?" Dennis asked.

"She's something all right." Will said, not feeling comfortable about Citra. "What did she mean, bring her back what was lost?"

"That is for you to figure out, my friend. For if the ancient warrior of the Rakyat really did bless you, then you will know." Dennis said as Will nodded. Will exited the temple as he tried to figure out what the hell happened. His headache was gone, and he felt…better. Better than he did before, like he was recharged and ready to take on the world. He looked at the tattoo that had magically grown on his arm and realized he only felt like this after the tattoo expanded. Maybe it had something to do with this. He closed his eyes and brought up his short-term memory and replayed what happened before he was hit with visions.

Will watches his memories from a third person point of view to see what could have caused the vision. He watched as Dennis brought him into the temple, Citra spoke to him, touched his arm, and pulled her knife out. Will then noticed something when Citra touched his arm. He saw a weird rock bracelet on her wrist and it skimmed his arm when she touched him. Will replayed the sequence in his head twice and saw that when the bracelet skimmed his arm, there was a small flash of blue light he didn't notice before…blue light like from the meteor that gave him his powers and turned him into a half-alien. He then looked at her bracelet and there were some similarities to the bracelet and the meteor. Could there have been more than one?

"There's something more to this island, isn't there?" Will said to himself as he knew that whatever caused his tattoo to grow and give him his visions was tied to the meteor that gave him his powers. Except that meteor was gone…so could there be another?

Line Break xxxxx

With no other answers to what the hell was going on with him, Will decided to focus on finding that CIA deep cover agent and get some more info to find his friends. So, he made his way to the Shanty Town to the east in pirate territory. Along the way, he took down a few more signal jammers to make contacting Barton a lot easier. Will parked by the outskirts and tucked a pistol behind his back. He walked into the town and noticed they weren't any pirates around, so he was fine for now. The town wasn't doing so well, probably from Vaas and his pirates. He walked around when he noticed a bar on a hill, the same one from his vision. It was a good place to start so he walked in and got a beer at the counter. He looked around and didn't see anyone except some locals, so he decided to wait and see if anything happened. If this place showed up in his vision, it was important.

He waited a bit and drank his beer as he overhead some guys playing poker. "Hey, did you hear about Snow White? Shut up about Snow White. Every time you tell this story, we're playing. What the hell are you talking about? Snow White escapes from Vaas's prison camp with one of the Americans. Next thing you know, he's killing all of Vaas's men. Awwww, that's the worst version of the story I ever heard. You ruined the drama. Sounds like Hoyt needs to step in…if it's true. Hoyt would make quick work of that guys, that's for sure. Probably kill him long and painful. He already did with the owner of the mine. Hoyt's an artist, he'll kill this one special. Am I right? What did you say he looked like again?"

' _When I make it off this island, I'm not letting the others or anyone from SHIELD hear about that nickname.'_ Will thought as he saw an American in a white suit and sunglasses walk in. He talked to the bartender for a bit about some stuff and then he walked out. _'That's him. The only American in this whole place.'_

Will paid for his beer and slowly followed the guy through town. The man in white talked to a few other locals and Will could overheard bits of their conversation about intel. Most likely the man getting information on what was going on. Will did a quick scan of his mind and found out he was Willis Huntley, CIA.

' _Thank you, Barton. If SHIELD is anything, it has accurate information.'_ Will said as he used his training from Romanoff to stay hidden and followed Huntley to an isolated shack at the edge of town.

Will walked up to the door and his danger sense kicked in, the place was booby trapped so Will made a forcefield around his body and walked in. " _You have ten seconds to tell me who you are before I remotely detonate the C4 under this table and this whole place exploded like a pop bottle."_ Huntley said.

"Will Detmer. Or Snow White if you been hearing the rumors floating around the island." Will said.

" _Really? Interesting. Tell me, Mr. Detmer, do you consider yourself a patriot?"_ Huntley asked.

"Before you even think about going off on a rant, let me just say that I need your help. Vaas has my friends and I need to get them. Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it Agent Huntley." Will told him.

" _I don't know what you're taking about?"_ Huntley responded.

"Relax, Huntley. I'm not here to bust your balls. Will Detmer, recruit in training to an intelligence agency like yourself but with a string of bad luck that brought me here. If you really are CIA, you'll know what I did in Paris to the Albanian trafficking ring and the Saint-Claire slave operation so let's just cut the bullshit." Will said as Huntley didn't respond right away.

" _It seems you're well informed, Mr. Detmer. You're growing reputation precedes you."_ Huntley said.

"Good to know. I'm not here to ruin whatever it is you're doing, I just need help finding my friends. And if I can stop Vaas and Hoyt then it's a good thing for you." Will said.

" _Very well. By the way, Vaas has your friends Robert Drake and Alex Summers, and I'm zeroing in on Keith Ramsay. I'll help you get them if you help me. There's something I'm looking for. We'll trade favors."_ Huntley said.

"Deal." Will responded as the wall of a shelf moved apart to reveal a hidden staircase. Will walked down and saw Huntley sitting at a desk with a radio set up. His whole place looked like something out of the Cold War, but I guess you make do with what you got.

"Mr. Detmer. You're not at all what I expected." Huntley said as he walked over.

"Appearances can be deceiving. A little old school around here but I guess it works for you." Will said as Huntley walked over and took something out of a box and put it on the table in front of him.

"Flammewerfer." Huntley said as Will looked it over and saw it was a small flamethrower.

"Flamethrower. What do you need?" Will asked.

"You like to get to the point, I respect that." Huntley said.

"Only when the people I care about are at risk." Will replied as Huntley nodded.

"Hoyt Volker is the boss of a very good friend of yours: Vaas. He also happens to run the largest slave trading ring in the South Pacific, with aims to expand into Europe after your take down of Saint-Claire. On top of that, he grows drugs. If we set fired to his fields and his boat, he's gonna canoe over to this island. I get what I want, and we learn more about your friends. Kapesh? I feel like that's only an Italian thing, only Italians can say that. It's like spraying furniture gold. You know what I mean? Anyway, here's the gun." Huntley said as Will picked it up, checked the full tank and loaded it into place.

"Thanks." Will said as he took the strap and put it over his shoulder. "You have an armory here? I lost my guns when Vaas ambushed me."

"Sorry, can't give you my stuff but there's a gun store in the center of town. Tell the lady there the man in the white suit sent you. She's sweet on me and if you're screwing with Vaas and Hoyt, she'll give you a discount. And if I can give you a little advice, choose some things that don't go boom. Vaas already has his men scouring the island for a crazy American. So, if you want to make it off this island alive, I'd stick to the shadows and be a bit quieter." Huntley said as Will nodded. He left Huntley's shack and went over to the gun store and saw the old lady running it.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"I need some guns. The man in the white suit sent me." He said as she nodded and had him close the door.

"What can I get you?" She asked as Will looked at her limited inventory.

"I need some firepower. Powerful but also quiet." Will said as the lady took out a SIG Sauer P226 with an attached suppressor, a thigh holster, and about 8 pistol clips. Will handed her some money and put the thigh holster on his right leg and strapped his pistol in. He put the ammo clips on the left side of his holster belt.

"That's the best if you want to kill someone and keep quiet." The woman said as she also put some flashbang grenades on the table.

"Anything else?" Will asked as she looked around and took down a hunting recurve bow and a quiver of about 40 arrows.

"This is the best if you want to kill without making noise." She said as Will contemplated. The bow was actually pretty useful before and if Vaas was really after him, Huntley was right. He needed to keep a lower profile now that they were gunning for him.

"I'll take it." Will said as he paid her for it and took the bow and quiver.

"Since you like it, I'll give you these as well." She said as she handed him a spare quiver with 20 arrows inside. Will took one out and saw the arrowheads were different. "Explosive and Molotov arrows. I have them around because no one uses the bow."

"Right." Will said as he took the quiver when something caught his attention in the corner of his eyes. "What's that?"

The woman looked over where was looking and saw it was a jacket. She brought it over and Will saw it was an old dark green leather jacket with streaks on the back and shoulders. "It's a hunting jacket. Our hunters wear these when they go out to help them blend into the brush. If you don't move, you won't be seen." She said as Will thought about it. He wasn't too keen on the color, but he could use something to improve his stealth and the hoodie would help him with the sun. "If you want it, it's free."

"I'll take it." Will said as she gave it to him. He took everything to his pick-up truck and drove to the fields that Huntley told him about. He stopped his car on the side of the road and put on the hunting jacket. It was a decent size fit as he made sure it was ok for him to move around in and it was surprisingly comfortable and roomy. He felt the heat of the sun beating down on him, so he put his hood on and there was also a facemask in the collar, so he pulled it up to cover his mouth and nose. He grabbed the quiver of arrows and filled it some of the explosive and Molotov special arrows the store keeper gave him. He also took the flamethrower and slowly made his way through the brush and saw two rows of marijuana plants with two guards sitting by some crates and two guard dogs.

Will held the recurve bow and put two arrows on the draw string. He pulled back and aimed, then released as the two arrows flew through the air and killed the pirates. The guard dogs were on alert, so Will pulled out his pistol and shot them down with headshots. He then took out the flamethrower and began spraying the plants as the fuel and fire began to spread, burning the drugs.

"Ok, this is awesome." Will said as he kept burning the drugs and when he was finished he moved back into the brush and moved to the next area of the farm. "Jesus, that's a lot of weed."

He saw a few pirates scattered around and knew they would be onto him soon with the fields burning. He saw one pirate on the far away field next to an oil drum, so he took out an explosive arrow and aimed. He adjusted the arc to counter for wind resistance and released as the arrow hit the oil drum and created a huge explosion. The explosion set two fields on fire as the pirates began to scramble to figure out what the hell happened. Will fired more arrows from his hiding spot and killed four more pirates before the rest began shooting in his general direction. Will stuck to the jungle and ran as he blended into the environments with the pirates shooting wildly, trying to figure out who was attacking them. Will ran through the jungle and felt himself moving a lot faster than normal. Will fired two more arrows and killed two more pirates as he saw more coming in from the shacks by the water. He saw two more fields of marijuana, so he ignited the flamethrower and threw it far away and high into the air over the two fields before firing an arrow at it and causing it to explode.

The exploding flamethrower showered down fuel and fire and it began burning the remaining two fields as well as any pirates who were unlucky to be near. Will kept moving as he jumped from the jungle and while he was in the air, he fired two more arrows, killing two more pirates. He rolled from the jump and ducked behind cover as three more pirates came up from the town, shooting at him. He popped out from behind cover and killed one with an arrow to the heart and ducked back down as the pirates kept shooting at him. Will then shot up from the cover and fired two more arrows, killing the pirates. He then headed into the small town by the water and jumped onto the roof of a building, using his height to his advantage and took down four more pirates with arrows before he saw a pirate in heavy duty fully body armor with an LMG step out from a house and fire at him. Will ran along the roof as he tossed a flashbang grenade at the pirate, distorting him. Will then jumped off the roof and onto the pirate, killing him with a machete to the neck.

Will turned to the ocean and saw a boat loaded with drugs making a break for open water, so he pulled out one of the explosive arrows and fired it at the boat, causing it to explode in a shower of fire, oil, and cocaine. "And done." Will said as he looked at the carnage of the fight. That was a lot easier than he thought it was be. Something seemed different with him and not the usual telekinetic super brain part of him. Usually he used his powers to run or jump higher, but he ran through the jungle and village a lot faster than he normally would. He was a lot quicker and agile and that jump onto the heavy was like he had done it a million times. He looked at his body and wondered how this was so easy when he looked at the tattoo on his arm.

' _The jungle speaks through the warrior. The path leads to the heart of the jungle. Follow the path, and you will find the answer._ ' He remembered hearing Dennis say about the tatau. Could this thing be the reason why he feels different? How he's able to move and fight faster than before? He'd have to get some answers.

Will walked around the camp and picked up extra ammo and arrows as well as burned any remaining drug stashes or piles there were. He looked around for anything of interest like notes or maps but nothing, so he just scrounged up some extra ammo. He did manage to find a Remington Model 700 Sniper rifle. He found some compatible ammo clips and a suppressor, so he took it and put it in the truck and drove back to the town. The drive took a bit, but Will got their around mid-day. He left the bow, quiver and sniper rifle in the truck and walked back into town and into Huntley's shack. He walked into Huntley's secret room and saw him working on some files.

"Hey, it's done." Will said as Huntley nodded.

"Thanks. Nice jacket." Huntley said as Will pulled his hood and facemask down. "I got you an ear piece."

He handed it to Will who put it in his right ear. "Right. Have you found anything on my friends?" Will asked as Huntley walked over to his shelf to grab a cassette tape and put it into a tape recorder.

"I'm closing in on something. By the way, you're starting to get popular." Huntley said as he played the recording and heard Vaas talking with a voice that sounded familiar.

" _Lovely weather we're having. Why, boss, you planning a parade? Hahaha. That's why I love you, Vaas, you make me laugh! Everything in business is so goddamn serious. But you. So, uh…what about Snow White?"_ The recording played as Huntley put some pictures down of Vaas and Hoyt together, of Hoyt arriving on the island with a helicopter and picture of the island with a town circle in red pen.

" _You know what, I don't give a fuck, I don't give a fuck about him. Really? Then why am I here? Once you've got the ransom money, his friends are gonna be sold like that. I killed his friend on beach. I did what you wanted with the other one. It's my sister, she's inking that white boy. I don't give a fuck about your family! It is by my grace that your head isn't impaled on the antenna of my car! Therefore, I would like it if you gave a fuck about Will Detmer! Ok, Hoyt. Ok, alright. Fantastic. I am really loving this weather. What's the name of that village down the road. Beras Town? A bunch of Native Sympathizers. They stole a transportation manifest that's close to my heart. I'd like to pay them a visit. Nice to meet you Vaas."_ Huntley then shut off the recording.

"Better make your way to Beras town." Huntley said.

"All right. Who has the manifest?" Will asked.

"I'll tell you when you get there. I'll need a few pictures. Here." Huntley said as he tossed him a camera.

"Right." Will said as he left and drove to the town. He stopped down the road and approached on foot, armed with his bow as his hood and face mask were back up. He touched his earpiece to turn it on. "Willis, I'm at Beras Town."

" _There's a shack overlooking the pond. You can see the center of the village. Don't be detected."_ Huntley said as Will slowly made his way up to the shack and saw a helicopter parked on a rice field. Will took out the camera and zoomed in to see Hoyt with two military looking men, more professional then Vaas's pirates. Looks like Hoyt has his own army.

"Hoyt's here." Will said.

" _Wait until he leaves. Otherwise he'll make chicken chow mein out of your friends."_ Huntley said as Will zoomed the camera in, took a few pictures and watched as there were several villagers with their hands tied behind their backs being marched at gunpoint into the rice fields.

"I want it to be clear that anyone…anyone who helps those savages out in the woods will end up like our friends here! Is my point coming across?! You! Run!" Hoyt fired his gun in the air as the villagers ran into the rice field and some of them were killed in explosions. The entire rice field was mine.

"Jesus Christ." Will was shocked at the horror. Hoyt was a twisted fuck.

" _You see the guy in the red striped shirt?"_ Huntley asked as Will saw the guy make it across the rice field in one piece and was hiding in a processing shack as some of Hoyt's men toyed with him. _"Go in and extract him. He has the transportation manifest that'll lead you to your friends Robert Drake and Alex Summers. It'll be encrypted but I'll decode it if you snap me a picture."_

"I'm on it." Will said as he saw the two men shooting at the villager, so he quietly made his way behind them. He stabbed one guy in the back of the head with the machete and then quickly stabbed the other in the neck before he could even move his gun. With them dead, Will made his way through the mine field and cut the guy free. "Agent Willis Huntley asked me to extract you. He said you can help me find my friends. Tell me where they are."

"No. I need to go to the village now. I'll tell you when we get there." The man said as Will heard Vaas's pirates closing in.

"All right, stay close and don't get shot." Will said as he moved up the rice field and shot three pirates dead with arrows and took cover behind some barrels of water. He grabbed a grenade of a dead pirate and threw it at a group of four, killing them in an explosion. With the pirates dead for now, Will and Rongo made their way into the village.

"Up the hill! This way, come!" Rongo said as Will followed him when more pirates showed up. Will fired his pistol and killed four more before he ducked behind a house to reload. He then moved around the side of the house to blindside a pirate. He shot him in the gut and moved his body forward, using it as a human shield as the pirates shot at him. Their bullets killed the pirate shield as Will pushed his body away and killed them with headshots. He hugged a corner of a house and then stabbed his machete behind the corner and killed a pirate who tried to surprise him. He took the pirates knife and threw it at a sniper on the roof.

He holstered his pistol and cleared an alleyway as a pirate with a machete charged at him. Will blocked and parried his knife with the bow. He locked his arm, punched him in the face, stomach and chest with his bow before grappling him to the ground and stomping on his face, knocking him out. Will then fired five arrows in rapid succession and killed five more pirates.

He and Rongo finally made it to a large hut that was littered with guns and ammunition and the place was turned over. "Bastards! They robbed me. Where is it?!" Rongo shouted as he began looking everywhere for the manifest. "Guard me while I search!"

Will heard more pirates coming and grabbed a grenade and a C4 brick from the ammo pile. He took a piece of rope and tied them together before pulling the pin and throwing it down the road as a huge pirate troop truck arrived. The C4/grenade explosion took out the truck and killed the pirates as Will calmly made his way over to Rongo. He stopped a bit and fired an arrow to the side and behind him without even looking, killing two snipers before walking over to Rongo.

"I found it. I found the transportation manifest!" Rongo said as he handed it to Will.

"Great." Will said as he used the camera and took a picture. He then sent it to Willis. "Willis, I just sent you the picture."

" _The pirates use codes Neanderthals can read. Drake and Summers are being transported on the old road. I've sent the decrypted coordinates."_ Huntley said as Will got a message on the satellite phone.

"I'm on it." Will said as he ran for the pick-up truck and drove as fast as he could to the coordinates. He drove through the woods and slammed on the brake as he arrived near old road when Huntley contacted him.

" _You're too late. The convoy's next stop is the fishery. The pirates are moving your friends to a chopper there."_ Huntley said as Will looked at his map and saw the Fishery was a little further away.

"I'll get to a vantage point before that exchange happens." Will said as he drove down the road as fast as he could and saw some pirates up ahead at a shack overlooking the river. Will swerved to a stop, took out his pistol and shot the pirates dead before they could raise an alarm. Will grabbed his bow, quiver and the M700 sniper rifle and walked over to the ledge for a perfect sniping position.

Will laid down on the ground with the sniper set up on the rock ledge, spare ammo clips next to him as Will checked the scope and everything was clear for now. He loaded a clip and pulled the bolt action handle and loaded a round, ready for anything. He looked over the fishery and saw it was empty but there was boat with a machine gun in the water, a possible escape. He waited a bit longer when he heard a helicopter come in from the west and fly down low before hovering down by the fishery. Will zoomed in and saw the helicopter touch down and four pirate jeeps show up. One Jeep had a .30 caliber machine gun on the top and there were about 11 pirates total with Bobby and Alex in the middle car.

The cars pulled into the fishery as Will adjusted his scope to zoom in a bit more and clear up the image. He saw two of the pirates push Bobby and Alex out of the car and onto the ground. "Leave them alone." Will said as he saw the pirates kicking Alex to the ground, so Will took a breath and squeezed the trigger. The bullet flew through the air and killed the pirate with a headshot. Because of the suppressor there wasn't a loud bang, so the pirates were confused as to what the hell happened. Will quickly ejected the spent shell and fired another bullet at the pirate near Bobby. He then quickly shot another bullet at the pirate on the machine gun turret as the pirates realized they were under attack.

Bobby and Alex quickly ran into the fishery as some of the pirates shot at them. Will aimed at a pirate near the railing and killed him with a shot to the chest. He saw the helicopter leaving so he focused his attention on Alex and Bobby. He loaded a new clip into the sniper rifle and fired at two more pirates, nailing two more headshots. More began to arrive as Will killed some more and they now knew where he was and began firing at his sniper spot but were too far away to be accurate. Alex and Bobby moved along the fishery towards the boat so, Will kept the pirates off them. He shot at nearby gasoline and oil barrels to create explosions and draw their attention away. Some pirates showed up with RPGs and fired at him, but they missed so Will took them out.

After several clips of sniper ammo, the pirates were dead and Bobby and Alex made it to the boat. "ALEX! BOBBY! OVER HERE!" Will shouted as he waved at them. Will put the sniper rifle on his back and dove into the water as Alex drove the boat up to him. Will swam over as Bobby helped into the boat.

"Hey, thanks for saving us, man. Nice Jacket." Bobby said.

"Later, Bobby. Let's get out of here." Will said as Alex hit the throttle and drove the boat down the river. Will got in the gun turret as more pirates showed up at the fishery and he shot them all down or they ducked to avoid being shot. "Alex, take us out to sea!"

Alex drove the boat as best he could, trying to keep them straight as Will turned the turret to the front. Patrol boats showed up and opened fire at them. Will made quick work of them with the turret, destroying the boats or killing the pirates. Some jeeps drove alongside the beach to chase them as Will took care of them when the machine gun ran out of ammo. A barrage of bullets nearly destroyed the motor as he saw the chopper from before coming right at them.

"A chopper?!" Alex shouted as Will took out an explosive arrow and aimed. He fired it and blew up the chopper, the wreckage falling into the sea as Alex drove them away. "YEAH!"

With no more pirates after them, Alex slowed the boat down so they could all catch their breath. "Jesus, Will. I've never been so glad to see you in my life." Alex said as he and Will hugged.

"Glad you're all right." Will said as Bobby sat down.

"Man, you saved us. And they were putting the screws to my dad. He was about to give them a ton of money." Bobby said.

"Bobby, you would have been sold into slavery afterward, even if he'd paid. I overheard the boss talk about what was going to happen." Will told him.

"Oh, shit…man this is some heavy shit, man! I don't know if I can deal with this." Bobby said as Will knelt down to him.

"Don't worry, Bobby. You're a lot tougher than you give yourself credit for." Will said as Bobby nodded.

"All right. Let me take over, Alex. I'll get you guy to the others." Will said as he drove the boat to the Professor's side of the island and to the small alcove by the ocean. Will drove the boat into the cave and saw the others sitting by a fire eating some food. The cave had been a bit more spruced up with extra tents, chairs and sleeping bags.

"Guys, I found Alex and Bobby!" Will said as he stopped the boat. Alex and Bobby got out and rushed over and they hugged the others.

"Oh, man, we're glad you two are ok." Daisy said as the Doctor stumbled through.

"Oh, I'm as high as a kite and the greenhouse is on fire!" Doctor Earnhardt said.

"What kind of place is this?" Alex asked as he looked around.

"Wow. This has got quite a kick. Does anyone want to have a puff before I put it out?" Doctor Earnhardt asked.

"I'm in. Hey, I'll be right with you in a second." Bobby said as he looked around. "This place is like heaven."

"Hey, Will. Can I talk to you for a sec?" Grant asked as Will nodded and walked over to the truck. "Hey, nice job getting Bobby and Alex back. Anything on Riley and Keith?"

"Not sure yet, man. But I've got a CIA contact on the island who's narrowing down their location for me. Once I get that, we find them. Then I take down Vaas and his boss Hoyt, destroy their SAM launchers and I call in a pickup. We'll be back home in Jersey eating Pork Rolls before you know it." Will said as Grant nodded.

"Right. But you're out there by yourself with no backup. I get that you said you went into spy work and can't say anything, but even a soldier needs a squad." Grant told him as Will pat his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Grant. The training I went through has me ready for this. Besides, these are pirates we're dealing with, not the Afghan army. Plus, the jungle plays to my advantage and I have others." Will said as he glanced down at the tattoo. "But I'm fine. Just make sure the other stay safe."

"Right, one other thing." Grant said as he hobbled over to the truck and opened up the military crate Will took from the pirate stash house. Grant opened the crate as they looked at the metal ore. "What the hell is this stuff? Daisy says it's not diamonds or gold."

"I'm not sure to be honest. Some kind of metal ore but valuable enough to keep in high-tech military grade containers. Hopefully, when we get off this island I can figure out what." Will said as they closed the container. "But I'd steer clear of this stuff until we know what it is. It could be slightly radioactive."

"Right. I'll tell the others. Angel and Tabby had a blast counting the gold and jewels you found." Grant said as they saw Tabby was admiring a diamond the size of an apple.

"Well, everything here we're splitting even. We're all going home with a little pocket change." Will said as Grant chuckled. "Keep them safe, Grant. I'll find Riley and Keith."

"Good luck, brother." Grant said as he hugged him, and Will hugged back. "By the way, like the jacket. Not sure if green is your color though."

"Glad to know." Will said as he walked out of the cave and called Huntley. "Willis, do you have anything on Keith or Riley?"

" _I zeroed in on your friend Keith Ramsay. A hit man who works for Hoyt purchased him. He's usually at the bar in the shantytown."_ Huntley told him.

"What's the guy's name?" Will asked.

" _Buck."_ Huntley told him.

"Thanks." Will replied as he ended the call.

Line Break xxxxx

Will drove back to the Shantytown and made his way to the bar to see if he could find Buck. He looked around to see a bunch of locals and a white man with an open button up, jeans and beard. Must be Buck.

"Are you Buck?" Will asked.

"Well, it's not my birthday, but you must be Christmas." Buck said as Will picked up his Australian accent.

"I'm looking for my friend, Keith." Will said as Buck got up.

"Nah, sorry doesn't ring a bell." Buck said as he walked over to the bar to get another drink.

"You bought him from Hoyt. I want him back." Will warned him.

"Oh! Him! He said his name was…Mmmmmmmmm!" Buck shouting into hand to make a muffle scream before he laughed. Will lost it as he slapped Buck's beer away, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall.

The commotion caught the attention of everyone in the bar. "OUT!" Will shouted as everyone left. Will squeezed his right hand around Buck's neck and hoisted him off his feet with ease, showing his new found strength. "WHERE IS MY FRIEND?!"

"AH…you must be—Will Detmer." Buck managed to say as his feet dangled off the ground.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Will shouted.

"If you do…me in…you won't find him…" Buck said as he saw Will's eyes glow.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Will said as he read Buck's mind and knew where Keith was. He reached into Buck's front pocket and took out a small key as Buck was shocked he knew it was there. "Guess I don't need you anymore."

Will then threw Buck across the room and he crashed into a table and chairs and was knocked out. Will left the bar and made his way out of town and drove to Buck's hut about half a mile down the road. Will kicked the door in and used the key he took from Buck on the door by the far wall and opened it to see it led downstairs. Will walked down to Keith cowering on an old mattress, the room dimly lit with one hanging light and a camera on the far wall. Will didn't want to even imagine what Keith must have gone through.

"Keith, Jesus Christ." Will said as he slowly walked up and knelt down to him. "Keith, it's me."

He reached out to touch him as Keith recoiled back. "Please, no more. Please I'm begging you. I can't take anymore!" Keith shouted as he cowered a bit. He slowly looked up and Will saw Keith had some fresh brushes on his face. "Will? Will, you gotta get me out of here. I'm begging you, please! You gotta met me out of here, man!"

"Don't worry, Keith. It's over. I'm getting you out of here and to the others." Will assured him that he was now safe.

"Yeah, you promise? You got to promise me." Keith begged.

"Neither one of you blokes are going anywhere." Will turned and saw Buck standing there, a cut on his head and he was holding an AK-47 at them. "You know, you hurt my feeling there, Will. How about I show you what Keith and I have been up to?"

"We're leaving, Buck. And that gun doesn't change anything. Besides…" Will said as Buck pulled the trigger and heard an empty click. "looks like it's not working right."

Will's eyes were lit a dim blue as he used his telekinesis to crush to firing pin in the rifle. "Fine then. I'll do this the old fashion way." Buck said as he unsheathed a K-bar knife. "I can't you bloody if you like. I like my meat rare."

"Come get some." Will glared at him as Buck charged. Will just Spartan kicked him in the chest and he flew back into the wall, destroying the camera. Buck groaned in pain as he got back up and twirled his knife.

"Oh, you got some fight in you. I like that." Buck said as he lunged with the knife, but Will backed away. Buck swung his knife down as Will grabbed and locked with his arm and pushed back, inching Buck's knife against his own throat as Buck did his best to push back but Will overpowered him. Will then headbutted Buck, stabbed him in the heart with his own knife and then kicked his body into the corner.

Will dropped the knife to the ground as he looked at Keith. "Will…you sure he's dead?" Keith asked as Will took out his pistol and shot Buck in the head for good measure.

"Now he is. Everything's going to be ok, Keith. Come with me. The others are waiting for us." Will told him.

Will slowly helped Keith out of Buck's place and burned it to the ground for good measure. They got in the pickup truck and drove back to the Doctor's house.

"Don't worry, man. Grant and the others are all here. You're safe now." Will told him as they stopped.

"Look, just don't tell them about this, ok?" Keith asked.

"I won't." Will replied.

"The world is fucked, man." Keith told him as Will nodded, having been through things that prove Keith's point.

"You have no idea, dude." Will told him.

"I thought I could handle my shit, and I can't." Keith told him.

"I don't think anyone could handle this kind of thing. But we're alive…" Will said as they looked at the others by the fire. "and with time we'll heal. That's all we can hope for."

"I hope you're right, man." Keith told him.

"It's almost over. I'll get Riley and we'll be back in Jersey in no time." Will said as Keith had a somber look on his face.

"Riley's dead. I'm sorry, man. He tried to escape, and they shot him." Keith said.

"Shit." Will said as he rubbed his forehead.

"Keith!" They heard as the others came over and welcomed him back.

"Man, we're glad you're all right." Grant said as he hobbled over on a makeshift crutch. "All that leaves is Riley and we blow this hellhole."

Will and Keith shared a somber looked as they nodded. "Grant…Riley's dead." Will told him.

"What?" Grant asked.

"I saw him. He tried to make a run for it and they shot him." Keith said.

"No. Did you see him die?" Grant asked. "Did you see him!"

Grant shouted as he grabbed Keith by the shirt as Will pulled him back. "No, no. Not my little brother. No, god please!" Grant shouted as he broke down in tears as Daisy comforted him. Everyone was at a loss of the news that Riley was dead. They were all so close to getting back home safe and sound together but not anymore.

"I'm sorry, Grant. I'm so sorry." Keith said as Grant cried out.

"What now?" Angel asked.

"First things first, I'm killing Vaas and Hoyt for what they did to use and every other innocent person they've killed, tortured or sold. Then we're getting the hell off this island." Will told them as he walked to the cave exit.

"Will!" Will stopped as Grant picked his head up, his eyes fill with anger and sadness. "Make sure that son of a bitch suffers."

"He will." Will said as he pulled up his hood and facemask. "Time for him to know who the fuck he messed with."

Will stepped out of the cave and called Huntley. "Huntley. Where's Vaas?" Will asked.

" _I'm not sure. He's on the move."_ Huntley told him.

"I need to know where he is. It's time the end the bastard." Will said. "He killed one of my friends."

Huntley didn't immediately respond as Will figured he was probably trying to figure out something for Will to do. " _Sorry about your friend. I don't have anything on Vaas's location yet but I'm working on it. In the meantime, this might interest you if you want to shove a middle finger in Vaas's eye."_ Huntley told him.

"What is it?" Will asked.

" _I've gotten chatter that Vaas has moved more than half of his forces into an old mine system that was here back when the Island was taken over by the Chinese. They've been moving heavy gear, and explosives. My guess is he's looking for something and it's something important. If you find out what it is and take it from him, it'll be a nice final fuck you before it ends."_ Huntley said as Will liked the idea.

"I'm on it. Send me the coordinates." Will said as Huntley sent them to the phone as Will made his way there. After a drive, he came to an old mine hut overlooking a giant ravine. Will grabbed his quiver and loaded it fresh with arrows and loaded his pistol. He walked over to the ravine and saw a natural sinkhole with a large groundwater pool at the bottom, but he also saw a small alcove that seemed to lead somewhere. Will jumped off the ledge and fell to the water but used his telekinesis to slow his descent. Will hovered above the water and slowly levitated over to the alcove and landed on the ground.

Will moved through the small above ground area, looking for anything to give him a sign that Vaas and his pirates were here when he saw a large stone door. Will looked and saw the large stone door had an old carving of a dragon and a giant rock…like the one from the Rakyat temple. Will walked up and touched the door and something seemed to draw him in so he used his telekinesis to open it. The door opened to reveal a narrow pathway into the island.

"Where the hell is this going?" Will asked himself as he decided to follow the path. He walked down the path and jumped down to an old level to see he was in some kind of old structure, probably ruins.

Will continued down the path and it seemed like he was in some kind of ancient temple or castle. He slowly moved his way through the area, not wanting to step onto a loose brick or rope that would cause the entire structure to fall on his head. He could stop rockets and explosions, but a cave-in was a different thing and he didn't want a field test to see if he could survive it. He heard some chatter nearby and saw a light source coming a ladder that led down.

Will slowly made his way over and peaked down the ladder to see one of Vaas's pirates. Will unsheathed the machete and dropped down onto the pirate, killing him with a stab to the back of the neck. He peaked out behind a wall and saw two of Vaas's pirates standing by some crates, smoking a cigarette. Will slowly walked up behind them and had his machete and knife ready as he stabbed them both in the back and they slumped over dead. Will saw another pirate in heavy gear, so he threw the knife and nailed the pirate in the head, killing him.

Will moved through the ruins and pulled out his pistol, killing four more pirates with silenced headshots. Will looked and saw that the pirates had set up camp in the ruins with food, equipment, and weapons. Whatever they were looking for, Vaas wanted it. He moved forward and saw a zipline that seemed to go further down through the cavern. Will took the zipline down and saw several wooden platforms with more of Vaas's pirates. Will dropped down onto a walkway as the pirates saw him arrive. The pirates fired at him as Will froze the bullets in midair and shot them back. More pirates came out as Will took an AK-47 and fired back, killing some of them. Will jumped down onto platform below him and shot at the pirates.

He kept firing until the gun ran dry and saw all the pirates were coming from a passage further down. Will took out his bow and shot three more arrows in rapid succession, killing three more pirates. He then jumped the ravine and landed by the passage before shooting 4 more arrows and killing the last of the pirates. Will followed the passage and killed two more pirates. He saw more scaffolds set up and wooden platforms that were above boiling water.

"What the hell?" Will said out loud as he jumped from platform to platform to avoid the burning water. More pirates showed up as Will took out his pistol and shot them dead. He loaded a new clip into his pistol and kept making his way through the hot water area. Pressure pockets of hot water sprouted out in small geyser like ways as Will then jumped from rock to rock to avoid being burned.

Will killed 7 more pirates with his pistol and kept moving through the area, wondering where the hell this was leading. He cleared a 20-foot jump and then jumped onto a higher ridge where he killed four more pirates and kept moving. He kept moving along the ridge as the ruins suggested he was nearing someplace important and saw another closed door like the one from the entrance. He slowly walked over and noticed a weird circular indent in the center with three other circle locks. A key was needed for this. Without a key, Will used his telekinesis to turn the inner most circle about 90 degrees to the right until it stopped. Then second ring turned around followed by the third until all of them locked into position and the door opened.

"Who needs a key when you have super powers." Will said to himself as he walked through the door to see old skeletons. He walked around a cave in and got on top of a boulder to a giant old Chinese style temple in the center of the boiling. "Jesus, this place must have been here for centuries."

The bridges were destroyed so Will just jumped the gap and landed in front of the temple. He looked at the walls and saw ancient murals and wall paintings about some kind of ancient warrior or king, but the weird part was that Will saw a large blue stone was drawn there as well. He walked up the stairs of the temple and was greeted to the sight of a large stone statue of the king and the same circle lock from the door. Will unlocked it and the statue moved back to reveal a set of stairs going down. Will took the stairs and was on his way to some kind of burial chamber. There were a few Komodo dragons but they didn't seem to bother Will so he kept moving. As he went further down, he saw a weird glow of blue in the distance.

Will made it to the last floor and saw an ancient sarcophagus of the king and right behind it was a glowing blue meteor. The same one that gave him his powers that night only a lot bigger. The one that gave him his powers was the size of a car tire, this one was the size of his motorcycle. But it had the same crystalline structure as the other and was even glowing the same blue hue like when he got his powers.

"So, there wasn't just one." Will was shocked to see another meteor like the one that gave him his powers on the island but this one had to have been here for centuries. Will reached his hand out to touch it and his danger sense hadn't kicked in which was a good sign. He touched the meteor and it felt cool to touch like before. But no rapid pulsating or whoosh of air, nothing happened.

"What is your story?" Will asked himself as he stepped away from the meteor. He was about to walk over to the sarcophagus but something in his head told him not to leave it there. Will looked at the meteor and began to think of what he could do. Will reached out his hand and attempted to levitate the rock and he was able to. Guess all the training with his powers made it easier. Will then noted that while he could move it, taking it with him was the issue. A giant meteor would draw attention.

Will then looked down and saw a pebble by his foot when he got an idea, compress it into a ball. Will reached out both his hands and began concentrating, making a squeeze motion as the meteor began to crumble and crack. Will concentrated as hard as he could to compress the meteor within itself as some of the sides began to shrink and compress inward. The pieces that couldn't take the pressure chipped off and fell to the floor as Will concentrated and the meteor began to shrink. Will kept concentrating as the meteor began to compress inward and get smaller and smaller. Will's nose began to bleed a bit as this was an enormous mental strain but he kept going. More of the meteor chipped off as it got smaller. Will finally stopped as he dropped to his knees in exhaustion. He wiped his nose free of blood and felt a bad headache wrack his brain and he quickly shook his head to try and refocus. He managed to get back to his feet and saw that he compressed the meteor from its original motorcycle size to about the size of a silver dollar coin.

Will walked over and picked it up, noting that it was a bit heavier than before, probably due to the compression but not too heavy that it was an inconvenience or cumbersome. Will put the small meteor in his pocket and walked over to the sarcophagus. He pushed the giant stone cover off and saw the remains of whoever was buried along with the dagger he saw in his vision. Will picked it up as a gem in the dagger glowed blue like the meteor and Citra's bracelet did before. Will's arm began burning again as his tattoos glowed once more and began expanding. Will's eyes glowed blue as he was given another vision, this one different from the rest.

Will found himself standing in a dark empty place, there wasn't a light source in sight as he wondered where the hell he was. His left arm began glowing as Will saw his tattoos were lit up like a Christmas tree and the weird thing was that the symbols and drawings on the tattoo were moving, like they were alive. They then floated off his arm and moved around him as the images began to morph into people. The dark empty void then turned into the cave where Will had his first series of visions and this time they weren't about him. Will watched as he saw what looked like 4 blue skinned men, larger than normal humans with armor and weapons. They were the blue people Citra spoke about. They had blue skin and purple eyes and looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Will didn't need to be a genius to know they were aliens. He watched the visions play out as they were of the aliens capturing humans, most likely native inhabitants of the island and taking them away. Then one man ventured deep into the island where Will was now and found the meteor. It must have been buried here for millennia. He touched it and it zapped him with the same energy that gave Will his powers. Will watched as he saw that man get powers like he did but his powers were different. While Will had telekinesis, this man seemed to be able to control the ground. But it didn't stop there. He watched the man perform some kind of weird mystical, blood, voodoo ritual thing as he began carving symbols on his left arm, the same symbols that was on his tattoo. He carved the symbols using dust and rubble from the meteor and turned it into some kind of ink. Will could barely hear what the man said in the ritual but he did hear parts. He heard something about _asking for power_ and _only the worthy blood successor shall inherit the true power of the Tatau_.

He watched as his tattoos flickered and glow the same color as the meteor. The man then tore a chunk of the meteor off and used that along with some stone to fashion the very blade he just touched. The man stood up and held the knife as his body seemed to be pushed to its physical best. Will then watched as the Tatau seemed to make him fight stronger and move faster than before. A lot like him when he fought those pirates by the drug field he burned. Maybe the tattoo was the reason for all of this and it enhanced his body with some kind of magic. Or maybe it had to do with the meteor. I mean, Dennis and the other Rakyat had the tattoos but they didn't seem to be any different from a normal human. Maybe it's because he's different then they are, both genetically and having super powers. Maybe his alien blood reacted to something in the tattoo ink and once it touched the other stones, it unlocked the true power of the Tatau.

The man fought against the blue aliens, using the knife and his control over the ground to kill them all. He then used his powers to expand the land of the island to the size it is now and formed the Rakyat. The warrior then watched over his island and protected it from pirates and any would-be invaders. Near his death, the warrior left the blade to the Rakyat and retreated to the ancient cave where the meteor was and used his powers to cause a cave in. He entombed himself to keep watch over the meteor and to make sure no one else could use its power.

Will's vision ended as he saw his tattoo had spread up all the way to his wrist and looked like the one from his vision. He also saw he was holding the knife the ancient warrior used. The Chinese must have invaded the island centuries later and stumbled upon the meteor. Maybe the king of this tomb thought of it as some kind of sign or omen about his rule and buried himself with it. But before Will could think of anymore questions, the walls began to crumble and the ornamental dragon statues around the room spewed fired.

"Oh, shit!" Will shouted as he ran the other way and saw part of the far wall crumble away to reveal an open passage with a light at the end. He threw out his hand, sending a massive force wave that made the opening large enough for him to slide through. He slid through just in time to avoid being squished and began crawling to his exit as the ceiling began to cave in. Will used his powers to try and keep the ceiling up so he could pass and made it out just in time to avoid being squished.

"Jesus Christ." Will plopped on the ground and took a moment to catch his breath, having nearly survived being squished. He looked at the blade in his right hand and saw the small meteor gem in the handle. Magic and another meteor that grants powers is a little crazy to be honest but his life got crazy ever since that night back in Jersey.

Will decided to head back to the temple and give Citra the knife and keep her and the Rakyat off his back. To be honest, the way Citra spoke and looked at him put him off ease. He'd been through his fair share of relationships and see Keith, Bobby, and Riley piss off enough women to know crazy when it's there. Will made his way back to his truck and drove back to the temple as the Rakyat let him into the inner courtyard. He walked in when Dennis saw him arrive.

"Welcome back, William. I had nearly forgotten your face. I am glad to see you alive and well. Nice jacket." Dennis said as Will adjusted the sleeve a bit. "The knife, is it in your hands?"

Will reached behind him and pulled out the knife. "You return to us bearing that which has been lost." Citra said as she and her two guards walked up to him. Will then held out the dagger to her and she took it. "That blade that was stolen from us and spilled the blood of our ancestors. It has been conquered and the dead have been avenged."

"I returned your artifact. Consider us even." Will said as he looked at Dennis.

"There is but one more step." Citra was about to continue but Will held up his hand and she stopped talking.

"Forget it. I'm done with this. I returned your blade to make us even and give a big middle finger to Vaas and Hoyt. I'm not joining whatever this is and I'm not your prophesied warrior or messiah." Will said as he turned to leave.

"William, you cannot reject Citra's aid. She will give you the power to fight Vaas and gain the true power of the Tatau." Dennis told him as Will held up his arm and moved his jacket sleeve to show the complete Tatau.

"I think I have all the power I need. And to be honest, this whole Rakyat thing is a little too cultish for my tastes. Keep the knife as a thank you for what you've done for me and my friends, but I'm done. I'll kill Vaas and Hoyt on my own." Will said as he walked away.

"Do not stray from the warrior's path, William. You will return to us soon enough." Citra told him as Will looked back.

"I wouldn't count on it." Will told them as he left.

Line Break xxxxx

Will walked out of the temple as his sat phone went off and saw it was from a blocked number, most likely Huntley.

"Hello?" Will answered.

" _Will, its Huntley. I managed to get a location on Vaas but you're not going to like it. He's back at his private fortress on the north eastern part of the island. There's no getting to him."_ Huntley told him.

"I wouldn't so sure about that. Does he have a helicopter?" Will asked.

" _Not according to my intel. What are you planning?"_ Huntley asked.

"I'm about to make your job a lot easier, Huntley. I'm taking down Vaas now." Will said as he hung up and drove to the north-east part of the island. Will stopped at the top of a cliff, grabbed his quiver and bow, loaded it with as many arrows at it could handle and got ready for a fight. He stopped at the top of the cliff and used his binoculars to see that Vaas's pirates controlled the small little canal/road that was the main way onto the island. If will wanted to stop Vaas and make sure he didn't get away, he'd have to be stealthy.

"I'm coming for you, Vaas." Will jumped off the cliff and dove into the water below. He held his breath and swam to the island which was easily 2 kilometers away but he was able to hold his breath longer and swim faster than he normally could. He was like a freaking fish in the water and he guessed it was the Tatau that was making him superhuman. Eventually, Will resurfaced about halfway there to take another breath before going back under and swimming the rest of the way. Will slowed down as he reached the island because he saw one of Vaas's pirates by the small dock, dumping bodies into the water. Will slowly swam up to the dock, grabbed the pirate and dragged him into the water and stabbed him in the neck with his machete.

Will got out of the water and checked his weapons to make sure the water didn't do any damage and that they were ready for when he needed them. Will moved along the path from the dock to the fortress to find Vaas. His hood and face mask were up as he was in full SHIELD Agent mindset, ready for his mission and to complete his objective. In this case, take down Vaas. Will moved through the path and hugged the brush and jungle as he heard two of Vaas's pirates torment a woman, probably about to have their way with her. Will slowly made his way behind them and took them down with a machete to the neck.

"Stay hidden. Don't worry, it's over." Will told her as she nodded and hugged a rock. Will moved slow through the jungle and saw the fence/border of Vaas's fortress. He saw three pirates by the fence perimeter having a smoke and a sniper in a tower.

Will fired an arrow and killed the sniper in the tower quickly and quietly. Will then fire three more arrows and killed the pirates by the fence. No alarm or shouting could be heard so Will slowly made his way over to the perimeter and jumped the fence. He quietly moved around to the side of a warehouse and killed a pirate with a knife to the neck and hid his body in an empty crate. Will walked up the stairs of the warehouse and saw Vaas's pirates out in the main courtyard relaxing with women and booze to keep them company. He pulled open the door to the warehouse and walked in, his silenced pistol out and ready as he saw the room was decorated with a lot of TVs, monitors and with writing reminiscent of John Doe from _Seven_. Will slowly walked through the room when the door behind him shut and the monitors turned on, to reveal Vaas looking at him.

" _Surprise mother fucker! You didn't think I knew you were coming, right? I am so disappointed! But you know what, I can't blame you. I mean, you must be crazy."_ The message played as Vaas looked right at him. All the doors in the warehouse slammed shut and Will looked through a window to see a whole army of Vaas's men outside with guns, ready to kill him.

" _Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity it? Insanity…is…doing the exact same fucking thing over and over again, expecting shit to change. That is crazy. But the first time somebody told me that, I don't know I thought they were bullshitting me so, boom, I shot him. The thing is, ok…the thing is he was right. And then I started to see it everywhere I looked. Everywhere I looked, all these fucking pricks, everywhere I looked, doing the exact same fucking thing, over and over and over and over and over again thinking, this time is going to be different. No, no, please. This time is going to be different."_ Vaas said as Will looked at the monitors. _"This time isn't going to be different."_

"You're wrong about that." Will said as his eyes flickered blue and he threw out a massive force wave to the window. His telekinesis destroyed the entire wall and knocked all of Vaas's men away. Will jumped into the courtyard as an alarm went off and more men came out with guns from Vaas's main building. Vaas began to monologue through the loud speakers as his men tried to kill Will but Will used his enhanced speed and agility to avoid their bullets.

He ran through the courtyard, unslung his bow and fired arrows at the pirates, killing 5 of them before he jumped onto the second floor of an adjacent building. Will fired an explosive arrow at a gasoline barrel and caused a big explosion that killed three pirates and destroyed a machine gun turret. Will ran along the roof, shooting more arrows and killing more of Vaas's pirates when he jumped off the roof and landed on a pirate, stabbing him in the neck with an arrow before shooting it at another pirate who tried to shoot him from behind. Will turned and smacked a pirate in the face, before kicking out his leg, throwing him over his shoulder and breaking his neck with a foot to the face. Will fired 7 more arrows in rapid succession and killed the last of Vaas's pirates that tried to rush him. There were no more pirates to deal with but Vaas's monologue was starting to get on his nerves so Will fired an explosive arrow at the main junction box, killing the power.

Will walked into the main building and saw it was decorated exactly like he would imagine a psychopath like Vaas would decorate it. He walked through the building and turned the corner when he ducked to avoid a machete to the chest. Will then backed away to avoid a slash to the face as Vaas pulled out another machete.

"Come on, Jersey shore. Let me show you how the jungle eats you alive." Vaas said as he lunged and tried to slash at Will but Will blocked and used the bow to counter the blades. Will blocked and knocked one of the machetes away as Vaas swung with the other but Will blocked it as well and smacked him in the face with the bow. Will blocked and locked his machete arm as Will grappled him to the ground. Vaas kneed Will in the back and knocked him off as Will rolled back to his feet. Vaas pulled a knife from his boot and threw it at him but Will deflected it with his bow. Vaas charged forward against, swinging his machete as Will managed to block all of them but the last heavy horizontal swing broke the bow in half. Will grabbed the broken halves of the bow and quickly looped them around Vaas's arm, trapping it in the bowstring. Will then spun and threw him into the wall, the force of the Will's throw was enough to break his arm.

Will grabbed a machete and walked up to Vaas who reached into his belt and pulled a gun but Will sliced his hand off and then stabbed him in the chest. Vaas's eyes widened as he grabbed Will's arm but his enhanced strength easily overpowered Vaas. Will drove the machete deeper into Vaas's chest and grabbed his face, so he was looking at him.

"This is for Riley…and the rest of my friends you son of a bitch." Will seethed in anger as he pushed the machete deeper. Vaas chuckled as blood dripped from his mouth.

"You stupid motherfucker." Vaas had a demented look on his face. Will did a quick mind reading of Vaas before he died and he knew what Vaas meant: Riley was alive and Hoyt had him on his island. Will dropped Vaas's body to the ground and put a bullet in his head to make sure he was dead. When he was satisfied, Will blew up the entire compound and fortress and dealt with any remaining reinforcements of the pirates that tried to kill him and then destroyed the SAM launcher.

He then drove all the way back to Dr. Earnhardt's house to tell everyone; especially Grant that Riley was still alive. They weren't leaving the island without him. Will finally made it back to the small alcove and saw his friends around a fire, keeping warm and eating some food. Daisy was still comforting Grant over the loss of his brother when she saw him enter the cave.

"Will." Daisy said as everyone turned to see him walk back in. "You're back."

"Yeah, Vaas is dead." Will told them.

"Good riddance." Grant said as he looked at their campfire.

"I just have to deal with Hoyt and we're on our way home but I already learned something new. Grant, Riley's alive." Will told him as Grant looked at Will. "I found Vaas's compound and Riley wasn't killed. Yes, he was shot but he's alive. Hoyt has him on the southern island."

"He's alive?" Grant asked as he got up.

"He is. I'm going over their now to get him. Once I get him, I take care of Hoyt and then we're going home." Will told them as they were all excited to be leaving. "Don't worry, Grant. I'll make sure Riley's safe."

"Be careful, Will." Daisy told him as Will nodded. Will left the cave and sent a quick message to Barton that one of the SAM Launchers was already down. He'd give him another call when the second one was taken care of.

Will got into a pickup truck and made a final call to Agent Huntley to see if there was any information he had on Hoyt's island and how to get there _. "Mr. Detmer, if would seem your reputation doesn't do you justice. I heard you took down Vaas. To be honest, I didn't think it could be done. That place was like a fortress."_ Huntley told him.

"Nothing's impossible. That fortress became his grave. Now it's time for me to end this and take down Hoyt." Will said to him.

" _I'd say it can't be done but you've proven to be really good at accomplishing impossible tasks. I had an agent over there once that might be able to help you. He's still alive. I think."_ Huntley said.

"Can you help me get there?" Will asked.

" _I'm flying over Hoyt's island on my way out of here. This Russian operation's blown wide open. I'm joining Task Force 141 flying out tonight. If you want a ride, I'll send you the coordinates."_ Huntley told him.

"Perfect, I'll be there." Will told him.

" _Plane's leaving in a few minutes, with or without you."_ Huntley told him as Will got the coordinates on his phone. Will drove to the coordinates which were somewhere in the middle of the island up near the mountains. Will drove as fast as he could through the island and was getting close. He was almost there when he got a call from Huntley.

" _Will, it's the Alamo. Vaas's leftovers have surrounded me. Come quickly!"_ Huntley said as Will sped up. He arrived at the location to see if must have been Huntley's safe house with a small single engine plane by a shack. Willis was behind some cover, shooting at some of Vaas's pirates. Without Vaas, he guessed they were just doing whatever they wanted. Will sped up and drove at a group of pirates. He bailed at the last second as the truck ran over three pirates before it swerved and crashed into a tree.

Will got back to his feet, pulled out his pistol and killed two pirates with headshots. Will jumped over some cover and kicked a pirate into one of the shacks. Will shot him in the head and then quickly took down the last four pirates and loaded a fresh clip into his pistol.

"Nice timing." Huntley said as he loaded a new clip into his MP5. "Those pinkos took the wind out of her sail. I need to fix this."

Huntley got to work on fixing the airplane while Will would provide cover. Will stood behind a .50 Caliber machine gun and a large box of ammo and weapons to watch the tree line. More jeeps began showing up as Will mowed them down with the .50 caliber machine gun. Some began to flank so Will took out his pistol and shot them down with precise headshots. Will kept firing and firing until he ran out of ammo and had destroyed 5 pirate jeeps and killed over 20 pirates.

"Will, get in." Huntley said as he walked over to the pilot seat.

"You're flying this to Russia?" Will asked.

"What, no you kidding? I'm upgrading in Singapore. You know it's illegal to buy or chew gum anywhere in Singapore? Gum is one of the great American past times. Those rice pickers are basically declaring war on Uncle Sam." Huntley told him.

"Right." Will said as he got into the passenger seat and saw a wingsuit.

"Take it. It's yours. It's how you're getting to the island." Huntley said as Will put on the wingsuit and zipped it up. "By the way, my man Sam is embedded with Hoyt's troops. If you whistle The Star Spangled Banner in Thurston at the Crazy Cock bar, he'll know I sent you.

Huntley started the plane and did his pre-flight check. "I gave my whole life to the Agency. I made my share of mistakes, but it's about to pay off. Yes sir, I'm almost out of the jungle. Ha! Wahoo!" Huntley shouted as he flew the plane off the hill and off the island. Huntley climbed up high as he made his way south. He flew high enough to gain speed but not high enough to be detected by Hoyt's SAM launcher. They flew for about 10 minutes when Huntley nodded to him so Will opened the passenger side door.

"This is your stop! Fly, Detmer! Fly!" Huntley shouted as Will nodded.

"Good luck with Russia! It's been an honor!" Will shouted as Huntley nodded back.

"I'm proud to serve my country! Say hello to Hoyt for me! Knock him dead, kid!" Huntley shouted.

"I will! WHOOO!" Will shouted as he jumped from the plane and skydived to the island. Will extended his arms and the flaps in the wingsuit let him glide through the air. Will steered himself to land by the beach and pulled the parachute cord but the chute didn't deploy. "SHIT!'

Will was getting closer and closer to the ground and his parachute was done for so he needed to do something before he hit the ground. Maybe he could use his powers to slow his descent and stop before he hit the ground. He did it before. Will closed his eyes and concentrated as the blue energy of his telekinesis covered his entire body. Will kept falling closer and closer to the ground until he stopped about 2 feet from the ground. Will opened his eyes to see himself hovering just above the beach. Will focused and floated around a bit, then flying up and down and all around to get used to flying. Guess telekinesis is also good for flying. Good to know for future notice.

Will landed on the ground and hotwired a truck by the beach. He drove to the town Huntley told him and looked for the Crazy Cock Bar and to his shock it was real. He walked in and bought a beer at the bar. "I'm looking for information on someone as well, a privateer by the name of Sam." Will said as he gave he gave the bartender 300 dollars for the information. The bartender looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I only know one Sam. There's a regular poker game in the back. Hoyt's privateers mostly. You might wanna think about getting yourself invited." He said as Will nodded.

"Right." Will said as he finished his beer and gave the bartender and extra hundred for the information. Will walked around back and saw one of Hoyt's privateers standing by the door.

"Where you going?" he stopped Will before he could go in.

"To play poker." Will told him.

"Don't even think about joining unless you can afford the buy in." He said as Will decided to test his telepathy ability and see if he could make the man step aside. Will concentrated and entered the man's conscious mind. Will's eyes glowed blue as the privateer's eyes also glowed blue.

"I've already paid the buy in." Will told him.

"You've already paid the buy in." He responded in a drone like tone, completely under the control of Will.

"You'll let me in." Will told him.

"I'll let you in." He replied as he opened the door.

"These are not the droids you are looking for." Will joked.

"These are not the droids I am looking for." He replied as Will chuckled. Will walked into the door, had the privateer shut the door behind him and ended his mind control. The privateer shook his head free of the headache and got back to drinking his beer, completely unaware of what just happened. Will walked down the stairs and saw three of Hoyt's men at a poker table.

"Willkomen to the game, fresh blood. Have a seat." The German privateer spoke as Will sat down.

Will sat down and they played a bit of poker. He would have drawn suspicion if he didn't play for a little bit. After about the 6th hand, Will began whistled the Star Spangled Banner and watching to see who would react.

"This hand bores me. I'm cashing out." The German man with the tattoos all over his body grabbed his chips and stood up.

"Already?" his friend asked.

"You'd like me to continue playing, Karl? Should we raise the stakes?" The man shouted.

"Relax, Sam." His friend replied.

"Good." Sam got up and left with his chips.

"I'm done too." Will said as he took his chips and left. Will walked out of the back exit and turned down the alley when Sam came up and pointed a pistol at his face.

"Who do you work for?" Sam asked.

"Willis Huntley sent me." Will told him as Sam holstered his gun.

"How is he? I have been concerned about him. Hearing nothing all these years." Sam said.

"He's fine." Will told him.

"Los! Los!" Sam said as he motioned Will to follow him away from the bar and to his house. Sam then took out a key and began unlocking a tripled locked door. "Being around all these criminals, it is too much. It is so easy to fool them. Everybody thinks I am a bad guy because I come from Germany. I was promoted because of my accent."

Sam opened the door and let Will into his safe room. "Now, come. Sit. Tell me, what is the mission?" Sam asked.

"Vaas took one of my friends and sent him here. I'm here to get him back…and then kill Hoyt." Will told him.

" _ScheiBe_." _(Shit)_ Sam said as he looked at Will. "Wait, you are Will Detmer, ja? You finished off Vaas and most of his pirates."

"I did." Will replied.

"Why didn't you tell me? We must hide you. Hoyt will blow you into a thousand Stucke." Sam told him.

"He's welcome to try. A lot of people have already tried. Besides, I just need to get my friend and make sure he's safe. I've called in for backup and we have 10 commando squads of highly trained men ready to storm the islands and take out all of Hoyt's privateers the second the SAM Launcher and radar jammer are done for." Will told him.

"This will not be easy. You have become a victim of your own success, ja? The natives attack Hoyt now. He has put up defenses. We must be careful or this will end with us both dead." Sam said as Will stood up.

"It's easy. Can you get a chopper?" Will asked as Sam was confused.

"Ja, shouldn't be a problem. Might take a bit but not impossible." Sam said.

"Ok, then I have a plan. I kill of one Hoyt's privateers and use his clothes to sneak into Hoyt's compound. I find where Hoyt is keeping my friend and I break him out. I kill Hoyt and you come pick us up in the helicopter. Then we take down the SAM launcher and radar jammer, call in reinforcements and I'll buy us a round when we get the hell off these islands." Will told him.

Sam looked at him like he was crazy. "While I appreciate your confidence, your plan is suicidal. You'll never make it into Hoyt's camp and even if you do by some miracle find your friend, Hoyt has an entire army at his command." Sam told him but Will was dead serious.

"Trust me, I can handle an army. Just get me that chopper." Will told him as Sam.

"Very well. Here, an earpiece so we can stay in contact." Sam told him as Will put it in his ear. "There's a fresh batch of recruits by the docks to the east. Kill one of them and take his uniform. Make sure no one finds his body. I'll see if I can get that chopper. Best of luck my friend."

"I make my own luck." Will said as he left and proceeded to the eastern part of the island to get that uniform.

Will slowly watched and saw a bunch of recruits get processed by some of Hoyt's veterans. All of their uniforms had electronic ID tags so they could be registered and Hoyt could keep track of who was in his organization. A smart plan. Will waited until he saw one of the new recruits pass the scanning and walk away. Will followed the privateer as he walked over to the side for a smoke so Will got up behind and put him in a chokehold. The privateer struggled but Will didn't let up and choked the man out. He then dragged the man away and took his privateer outfit which also included a facemask and helmet. Will then dragged the guy's body away to a small cave by the beach. He used his telekinesis to dig a small hole and bury him in the sand so no one would find him.

Will took the privateers weapons and loaded them. They were a Glock 22 pistol and a P416 assault rifle. He also had some grenades and a stick of C4. They would come in handy later. Will made his way to Hoyt's main compound where a lot of the business was conducted. Will took one of the jeeps and drove to the main compound to search for Riley. Will stopped before he hit the main gate and parked on the side of the road when he noticed a container in the back. He opened it to see it was loaded with C4 explosives along with a detonator which gave him an idea. He took 8 C4 sticks out and stuffed them in his jacket, pants and pockets. He armed one C4 charged and attached it to the underside of the jeep and pocketed the detonator.

Will walked up to the gate of Hoyt's compound and saw two guards by the checkpoint. He did a quick read of their minds and they were only allowed to let privateers enter who Hoyt personally authorized. Hoyt was a monster but he was a smart one. Will then concentrated and used his new telepathic mind trick to get them to let him through. Will walked up to the pirates and they went stiff like drones. As Will walked passed them, he threw a stick of C4 underneath their jeep for a surprise. He then walked through Hoyt's main compound and did his best to blend in. He made his way to the main building, sticking more C4 charges in hidden places for insurance if something went wrong. He stopped at a crate to tie his boot but that was just a ruse so he could have a moment to stretch out his telepathy and scan for Riley. Will sorted through all the thoughts when he heard a privateer say something about the prisoner Vaas shipped over. The prisoner was in the cells in the basement. It has to be where Riley is.

Will made his way into the main building, using his telekinesis to stealthy move his last C4 charge into a crack in a support pillar. Will walked through the compound when he saw some of the privateers watching the camera footage Tabby recorded during their sky dive and island adventure before they were captured. Will clenched his fist in anger as he heard the privateers laugh but he didn't react. Will kept moving and found a set of stairs that went down. Will walked down the stairs to the basement and saw one privateer on guard duty so Will walked up behind him and put him in a sleeper hold. Will held tight as the guard struggled to break free but after a few minutes, his arms went slack. Will moved his body into an empty closet, took the guards key along with his assault rifle and pistol. He then moved to the farthest door and unlocked it to see Riley slumped on a chair, bruises and cuts on his face, and a bullet hole in his left shoulder.

"Riley." Will whispered as he lowered his face mask. Riley looked up and saw Will there dressed as one of Hoyt's privateers.

"Will, what the hell are you doing here?" Riley asked.

"I'm here to get you out." Will said as Riley shot up and hugged him as Will hugged back. "Man, I thought you were dead."

"Me too, man. That Mohawk psycho sent me here to be sold. Man, am I glad to see you." Riley told him. "Where's Grant?"

"He's alive. He's with the others. I came to get you." Will told him as he touched his earpiece. "Sam, how are we doing on the chopper?"

" _I've almost got it, my friend. I'll be there in 10 minutes."_ Sam told him.

"Right. Tell me when you get close." Will told him as he handed the spare assault rifle to Riley. "Time to kick some ass, Riley."

"Dude, I've never shot a gun before." Riley told him as Will calmed him down.

"Think of if just like a video game. Point and shoot. Don't give these bastards any mercy, all right? They're all gonna burn in hell. We're getting out of here, man." Will said as he touched his forehead to Riley's.

"Thanks for coming for me, Will." Riley told him as Will smiled and pat his arm.

"Anything for family." Will told him as the alarm went off and the door to the cell shut closed.

" _A very touching reunion, Mr. Detmer, although it would appear to be in vain. Did you really think I didn't see that little reunion you had with your little friend? And did you not expect me to think that you would come for me after you little escapade with Vaas? You disappoint me, Mr. Detmer. All these rumors and tales I've heard and yet you've fallen for the oldest trick in the book. And now, I have you right where I want you."_ He heard Hoyt taunt him over the intercom system. Will heard movement in the hallway and saw about 15 of Hoyt's privateers standing out there with their guns pointed at the cell. _"Now, you're left with two choices. Choice 1, you try and go out guns blazing in which I kill you and your little friend and then have my men go over to the other island and recapture my stolen product. Option 2, you surrender, in which I torture you until you give me the location of your friends. And then I sell you. So, which one will it be?"_

Will looked at Riley and winked at him before looking at the camera in the cell. "How about option 3, dickhead? I kill you, destroy your entire operation and my friends and I go home." Will said as he pressed the detonator in his pocket as a huge explosion shook the compound and more could be heard outside as well. Will unclipped a grenade and tossed it outside into the hall which then exploded, killing a bunch of his mercenaries. Will kicked the cell door off its hinges and due to his enhanced strength it flew across the room and smashed into the wall. Will then unloaded his assault rifle at the remaining mercs, killing them.

Will loaded a new clip into the rifle as Riley stepped out behind him. "Riley, come on." Will told him as Riley nodded and followed. Will shot three mercenaries at the top of the stairs and killed a few more of them as they moved through the compound. His C4 charged had caused part of the second floor to collapse in front of the entrance so they had to figure out another way out. More mercenaries showed up as Will and Riley killed them all. They were heading to the back exit when Will saw Hoyt running for the exit with three mercenaries at his side. Will fired the rest of his rifle clip and killed two of them, then tossed it aside as he charged at Hoyt.

The third mercenary raised his rifle but Will grabbed it, did a throat strike and then killed him with a knife to the throat. Will quickly ducked and backed away to avoid a knife from Hoyt. He blocked Hoyt's knife stab to the stomach and punched him in the face. He then ducked to avoid a slash to the throat and grabbed Hoyt's arm to stop a downward stab. "You really think this is the end, kid? I have powerful friends who will hunt you down and make sure there is nothing left of you." Hoyt taunted him as Will head-butted Hoyt, broke his arm and kicked out his left knee.

"Then I'll kill them too." Will said as Hoyt tried to stab him, but Will grabbed his hand, broke it, and stabbed him in the side with his own knife. Will kneed Hoyt in the gut before punching him across the face and throwing him against a window. Will took one of his grenades and put it in Hoyt's jacket pocket. "This is for my friends! Say hello to Vass for me!"

Will pulled the pin on the grenade and kicked Hoyt out the window. Hoyt landed on a jeep as he frantically tried to get the grenade out of his pocket but was too late as it exploded. The explosion also destroyed the jeep and killed Hoyt. The man who had ruined so many lives was finally dead.

"Yeah, motherfucker!" Riley shouted, beyond happy to see Hoyt dead.

"Come on, Riley. We've got a chopper incoming." Will told him as they ran outside to see the aftermath of Will's C4 insurance plan. Some vehicles and buildings were destroyed and it caused pandemonium among the privateers. Will killed two more privateers with his pistol as he grabbed Riley and put him behind some cover behind a .50 caliber machine gun turret and weapons crate. The remaining privateers began converging on their location as they had also called for backup.

"Where the hell is the helicopter?!" Riley shouted as Will threw another grenade over the cover, killing some privateers.

"It's on the way! Just keep shooting!" Will shouted as Riley peaked out behind cover and fired his gun blindly at the privateers. Will got on the turret and began mowing privateers down left and right but more kept coming. More jeeps showed up as the pirates kept shooting at them but Will raised a barrier around them so Riley was safe. Will kept shooting until the turret needed a new ammo box so he grabbed one from the weapons crate when he saw an RPG with a bag full of rockets and a Milkor 40mm Grenade Launcher. "Riley, get on the turret!"

Will fitted a new ammo box and chambered the belt as Riley got behind it. "Just like Call of Duty! Don't stop shooting!" Will shouted as Riley unloaded hell on the privateers. Will grabbed the grenade launcher and unleashed a volley of grenades, wiping out all of the jeeps and some of the cover the pirates were using. Will reloaded the grenade launcher and touched his earpiece. "Sam, where are you?!"

" _I'm near Hoyt's compound. I'm seeing a lot of smoke and fire."_ Sam told him.

"Land by the western gate. We'll meet you there!" Will told him as he finished loading the grenade launcher. "Riley, come on!"

Will handed Riley the RPG and bag of rockets as they ran from the cover and to the west gate. The privateers that were still alive shot at them as they ran. Will fired a few more rounds into the compound and killed a few more privateers as he and Riley ran out the gate and saw a helicopter with a mounted machine gun land in front of them. Riley and Will got in as Sam took off.

"I'm glad to see you alive, my friend. What about Hoyt?" Sam asked.

"He's dead." Will told him as Sam smiled.

"I didn't think it was possible! You've proven me wrong my friend!" Sam shouted in adulation as Will walked up to the cockpit.

"I've been known to do the impossible. Take us to the SAM launcher!" Will told him.

"Right! It's next to the radar jammer!" Sam replied as he piloted them to the southern part of the island. Riley got secured in his seat as Will held onto the rappel rope cord. The flight took a few minutes and they were nearly there when Will felt the satellite phone in his pocket go off. He picked it up and saw it was Daisy so he answered it.

"Hello?!" Will shouted into the phone.

" _Will, where are you?! They're taking everyone! I don't know where! We need your help!"_ Daisy shouted.

"What?! I can't hear you!" Will shouted into the phone as the sound of the helicopter blades made it difficult to hear anything from the phone.

" _Get over here as fast as you can!"_ She shouted before the line went dead.

"What the fuck!" Will shouted as they arrived at the SAM launcher next to the radar jammer. Will grabbed the RPG and inserted a rocket. "Riley, you better cover your ears!"

Riley did as Will took aim and fired, smoke shot from the end of the launcher as the RPG sailed through the air and hit the SAM launcher. The impact set off the missiles in the launcher and created a big explosion. Sam piloted them higher into the air, so they didn't get caught in the explosion as it was big and powerful enough to take out the radar jammer as well.

"WHOO!" Will shouted as he watched the explosion. "SAM! Take us to the Northern Island, western shore! My friends are there!"

"Right away, my friend!" Sam piloted the chopper back to the Northern Island as Will took out his Sat Phone.

"Barton, the SAM launchers and radar jammer are taken care of. Send in the cavalry and tell them to lock and load. There's a bunch of pirates and privateers still left and they're gonna put up a fight." Will told him.

" _We're on our way. ETA, 30 minutes_." Barton told him.

"Roger that. Send one team to the following coordinates. I think my friends might be in trouble!" Will sent him the coordinates for Dr. Earnhardt's house. The flight took about 20 minutes as they neared Dr. Earnhardt's house when Will saw smoke and fire in the distance. They got closer and Will saw the doctor's house was on fire and it looked like a battle took place.

"Oh my god." Riley was in shock at what happened as Sam saw the carnage.

"Mein Gott." Sam said as he lowered them down and landed the helicopter in a flat area by the doctor's house.

"Riley, stay here! Sam, watch over Riley!" Will shouted as he jumped out of the helicopter and held his pistol in front of him. Will walked forward and kept an eye out for any enemy pirates. "Daisy! Grant! Tabby!"

He shouted for his friends but their didn't seem to be anyone around. Will looked around and saw some boot prints in the ground and they all went to the alcove entrance where his friends were. He kept moving and made his way around the house and saw a trail of blood that led to the small patio overlooking the cliff and saw Dr. Earnhardt laying on the ground at the end of the blood trail.

"Oh my god! Dr. Earnhardt!" Will ran over and saw the doctor was stabbed in the stomach with a blade. Will put his hands on the wound as the doctor looked up.

"William." Dr. Earnhardt managed to say.

"Stay with me. You'll be fine." Will told him as the doctor took his hand.

"The jungle warriors…I couldn't stop them. I'm sorry." Dr. Earnhardt then coughed up some blood as he touched Will's face. "They carried your friends…to the…temple…"

The doctor slumped to the ground as his head fell to the side. Will checked for a pulse but there wasn't one. Will placed the doctor's hand on his stomach and closed his eyes. "I'm so sorry." Will bowed his head in respect for the man who had helped him and his friends. It was his fault this happened and now it was up to him to get his friends back and stop Citra and Dennis.

Will ran back to the helicopter with a somber look on his face. "Sam, we have to go! Take us to these coordinates!" Will told him as Sam nodded and they took off.

"Where are Grant and the others?!" Riley shouted.

"They were taken! We're getting them back!" Will told him as he took out his sat phone. "Barton, I don't know if you'll get this but change of plans. Send that one team to the new coordinates I'm sending. I'm gonna need some backup!"

Sam piloted them away from the house and to the Rakyat temple. Sam lowered them into the jungle and landed the helicopter on the outskirts on some flat ground. Will walked out of the helicopter as Sam followed him, followed by Riley. Will walked into the temple and made his way into the courtyard to see all the fire pits were lit but no one was around.

"Where the hell is everyone?" Will said to himself as they arrived in the main courtyard and Will saw Citra with her two guards. "Citra, what the hell did you do to my friends?"

"You have returned to us victorious. Hoyt and his men have paid for their crimes against our people. And our prophesied warrior has returned to us, ready to take his rightful place." Citra said as Will wasn't in the mood and walked up to her.

"Where the hell are my friends?" Will asked her.

"Hey, let go!" Will heard as he turned to see Riley and Sam being taken away.

"Hey, let them go! Citra, stop this!" Will turned to face her and she blew some kind of dust into his face. Once he inhaled it, Will's vision and mind began to get fuzzy as the dust must have been some kind of sedative or poison. Will struggled to stay balanced as he dropped to his knee. "What did you do to me?"

"I am helping you. You have accomplished much but you still reject your true calling." Citra said as she looked down at him and had her two guards hoist him up. "Look at you. Big, strong, powerful. Why would you want to go back to what you were? Now, you are perfect. The path has purified you, but the cleansing must be completed. All that remains is for you to escape your past. With the Rakyat you are powerful, like the mighty warrior our blood descends from. Complete your path or all your progress, your Tatau, everything you have done on this island will be erased."

Citra stepped back as she looked at her warriors. "Take him to the chambers and prepare him for the ceremony." She said as they nodded and dragged Will away. Whatever Citra used had dulled his sense but it was quickly subsiding and he felt the feeling coming back to his body. The Rakyat warriors had taken him from the courtyard and into the temple, dragging him to one of their rooms when Will decided to make his move.

He clenched his fists and yanked his left arm free from the warrior. He elbowed the warrior in the face and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying into the wall. Will grappled with the other warrior and took him to the ground, broke his arm and put him in a sleeper hold. The warrior struggled but Will was too strong and the warrior passed out. Will grabbed a vine from the wall and tied up the two warriors together. He took a pistol, an AK-47 and two knives from them as he quietly made his way through the temple to find his friends. He hugged the walls and checked the corners but didn't see any more Rakyat warriors. He kept moving through the temple when he saw a pathway that led to more stairs and what seemed like a pyramid structure you would see at a Mayan temple. Will took the pathway and walked up the stairs, looking around and keeping the AK-47 ready as he still didn't see any Rakyat warriors. He walked up the stairs and saw a small platform that led up to the temple and saw his friends tied up and gagged, hoisted up by their hands.

"Oh my god." Will slung the rifle on his shoulder and ran up to the platform to help his friends. He ran to the closest friend and it was Bobby. "Bobby! Bobby, you ok?"

Bobby nodded as Will took the gag out of his mouth and used his knife to cut him free. "Man am I glad to see you." Bobby said as he rubbed his wrists.

"No problem, buddy. Always there for each other." Will said as Bobby nodded. "What the hell did they take you for?"

"I don't know. They came to the Doctor's house and knocked us all out with drugs, and not the fun kind." Bobby said. "But they seemed really interested in you."

"Yeah, and not in a good way. More of Temple of Doom sacrifices way from what I can gather. Here…" Will handed Bobby a spare knife. "free the others."

Bobby walked over to James and cut him free as Will walked over to the other side and freed Sam. "Sorry about this Sam." Will told him.

"It's all right, my friend. I guess I owe you for saving me now." Sam said as Will cut his hands free.

"Consider us even." Will said as he then freed Daisy, Grant, Keith, and Riley while Bobby freed James, Clarice, Alex, Angel and Tabby. Will then took out his sat phone and called Barton. "Barton, where's that SHIELD team? I need an immediate pickup. Natives are now hostile."

"Will…." Angel looked at him in worry as Will heard the sound of a hundred rifle clicks. He turned and saw Citra with over 100 Rakyat warriors armed with AK-47s, all of them pointed at them.

"Let me and my friends leave before this gets out of hand, Citra. I took care of Vaas and Hoyt for you. What more do you want?" Will asked as Citra had her men lower their guns a bit.

"You mistake me, Will Detmer. I do not wish you harm, I wish you to be free. You are strong, powerful but you let your past life hold you back. Be free of them and you can rule the Rakyat with me." Citra told him as Will knew he was right about her, she is crazy.

"No. I'm strong enough as it is and my past doesn't hold me back. They're why I keep fighting. Now get out of the way!" Will warned her as she raised her arm and the Rakyat raised their guns at Will and his friends.

"This is for you, William. The warrior has blessed you. You are his reincarnation; your place is with your people." Citra begged him as Will looked at his friends.

"My people are right beside me. Let…us…leave…" Will warned her as he clenched his fist.

"William! Citra saved you! She saved all of us! And you reject her love!" Dennis shouted as he raised his pistol to shoot him and Citra tried to stop him but it was too late. The bullet flew through the air but before Will could stop it with his powers, a specialized magnetic arrow flew by and magnetized it to the arrowhead. The arrow then hit the ground and Will saw the bullet had magnetized to it. Will looked up and saw Barton in his SHIELD gear with his bow and quiver standing on top of the temple.

"Sorry I'm late but better late than never." Barton said as he whistled. Then 24 SHIELD commandos came out from the temple in full tactical gear and weapons. The Rakyat turned to shoot the intruders but the SHIELD agents fired back and killed about 30 of the Rakyat. Dennis charged forward to kill Will but Barton shot him dead with an arrow to the chest. Will's eyes flickered blue as the barrels of all the Rakyat rifles were destroyed, leaving them defenseless.

"Drop your weapons, now!" Will shouted as the Rakyat dropped their guns and got down on their knees with their hands up. Will looked at his friends and nodded to them as they all had looks of relief, they were safe. Will saw Dennis dead on the ground but he also saw Citra there as well, holding her stomach. A stray bullet must have hit her. Will knelt down next to her as she reached up to touch his face.

"Don't…stray…from the warriors…path…" Citra managed to say as her hand dropped to the ground and the life left her eyes. Will closed her eyes and took the meteor bracelet off her wrist and the ancient Rakyat blade in her belt. Will took the meteor stone out of the knife and dropped it and the bracelet to the ground before using his powers to crush both of them to rubble and dust.

Barton fired a grapple arrow and slid down to the temple floor. "This is Barton. I have eyes on the priority and secondary targets, no visible harm. Request immediate containment crew." Barton spoke into his earpiece.

" _Roger that. On their way."_ Commander Hill replied.

Barton turned to Will who looked a little worse for wear. "Hey. So how was vacation?" Barton asked as Will chuckled.

"Crap." Will said as he hugged Barton and Barton hugged back. "Thanks, Barton."

"Anytime. Hopefully you'll do the same in the future." Barton told him.

"For the rest of your life, you can guarantee that. Even if I have to disobey orders, you can bet that I'll be there." Will said as Barton smiled and looked at his friends.

"How are your friends?" Barton asked as Will looked at them.

"Worse for wear…but we're alive." Will said.

"Right. Let's get you guys off this place. The rest of the SHIELD teams are taking care of the pirates and Hoyt's privateers and we have our engineers and techs working on Hoyt's computers." Barton said as Will nodded to his friends to follow. "The Quinjet will take you to a SHIELD facility in Thailand. Director Fury and a medical team are waiting there."

"Great, but we need to make a stop first." Will told him as they left the temple and saw a fleet of Quinjets and SHIELD vehicles waiting.

Line Break xxxxx

 **Manhattan, New York City: September 2011**

It's been nearly three months since Will and his friends got off of Rook Island and Vaas and Hoyt were taken care of. After they were rescue from the island and treated at the SHIELD medical facility in Thailand, they got a plane back to the States. Will's friends all had to sign SHIELD confidentiality forms about what they witnessed and to not say a word about what happened unless it was to an authorized SHIELD psychiatrist. After they were physically cleared and checked, Will and his friends were given a psychiatrist to help them with the trauma of what happened.

Will especially had to see a therapist because Director Fury wanted to make sure that Will wasn't mentally compromised. When Will met with Director Fury and Deputy Director Hill, he had to give a full report of what happened on the island. Will told them everything, except for the part about the other meteor. He told them about Vaas, Hoyt, and how he handled himself in those situations. Fury and Hill were concerned about his mental stability considering that less than a year ago he was a regular college student and now he was a super-powered individual who took down three of the world's most notorious and dangerous human trafficking rings in the world and had to fight and kill to survive.

Will wasn't the same…ever since Paris he had changed, and this adventure only confirmed that his old life was officially over. Not just physically with his powers or the changes his body underwent from the Tatau but mentally as well. He underwent trauma most people never go through in their entire lives. He had seen horrible things and killed people as well. Granted, they were bad people but taking a life is never an easy thing to consider. Will understood that, and it was a good thing otherwise Director Fury would get worried. The first month back was rough as Will was suffering through a slight case of PTSD and given what happened, it was expected. He had dreams and nightmares about what happened, and he was experiencing hyperarousal.

Will visited his therapist more often to get help with his trauma and he got help from his family. He and his friends were in a rough spot but with help they would get better. Tony helped as well to Will's surprise. He knew a thing or two about trauma and Rhodey being in the military helped as well. He knew what Will was going through. They helped him heal and he was getting better, but time would ultimately help him. Will got an affinity for meditating which helped him calm his mind and given his psychic powers, it helped him keep focus.

It was Will's birthday and he was with Tony to work out some things. He celebrated his birthday a few days prior with his family. Nothing big, just a small dinner with his uncles and cousin. Given what happened, he wasn't in the mood for a huge party. He was with Tony because he needed his help and expertise with what happened on the island. SHIELD gave him a full medical exam after the island and they discovered that Will's body had changed. Before the island, Will was in the best shape for a man his age but now his body was pushed to the absolute peak of human potential similar to Captain America. His body's metabolic functions showed his muscle and nervous system were at their best to coincide with his brain, so he was now technically, a super soldier. Fury wanted to know what happened, but Will still wasn't sure about what happened, so he told Fury he didn't know. Maybe the transformation his body underwent from the meteor was finally complete or something like that. Fury bought it for now.

Will was at STARK Towers with Tony and Jarvis. They were on one of the R&D floors that had been completely built as Will wanted Tony's help to figure out what the hell happened to him. He also needed Tony's help with the mystery metal he found on the island as well as getting his help with his money and treasure. Tony had Pepper help Will with his money and treasure. Will was lying on a specialized medical bed as a scanner and IV band were analyzing his blood and body mass to scan for abnormalities. Tony also set up a special scanner on Will's left forearm which analyzed his tattoo. Will had been on the medical bed for about 30 minutes when the scan and analysis was finished. Tony was at the monitors looking over the information as Will got off the medical bed and put his shirt back on.

"Well? What do you think?" Will asked.

"Kid, I've seen some crazy things in my life…hell, I'm some of them but all of this is something else." Tony told him as he looked at the scans of Will's body and DNA. It showed Will's new enhanced nervous system and muscle structure. It showed that Will was given enhanced strength, speed, agility, stamina, and metabolic functions. He was just like Captain America. "I didn't think that alien DNA would be the source of your powers."

"You're preaching to the choir, Tony. How do you think I took it when I learned about this? Oh hey, Will, you don't just have telekinesis but you're also part alien and we have no idea how this happened." Will said as Tony nodded.

"All right, easy kid. Anyway, it seems like whatever happened on the island changed your body to the absolute peak of human potential. Guess SHIELD finally has a super soldier. Fury's gonna sink his hooks into you to figure out how this happened." Tony told him.

"Yeah, except I'm still not sure about how this happened. All I know is that it has to do with this tattoo." Will told him as he looked at it. "The locals on the island say that the Tatau was some kind of warrior's call and that if you follow the path of the warrior, you gain power."

"Sure, and if you chant hard enough it rains." Tony joked.

"Hey, I know how it sounds, ok. Those people were crazy. They were ready to do god knows what to my friends. But all this happened when they put this tattoo on me." Will said.

" _I've finished analyzing the data and it would appear that the marking on your arm isn't a tattoo in the traditional sense as that would require ink."_ Jarvis told him.

"This isn't ink?" Will asked as he looked at the screen to see the scans of the tattoo and it showed the etchings weren't just on the skin but went deeper, to the muscle wall, almost to the bone.

" _It would appear to be some kind of a subdermal brand. I'm still having trouble identifying the material though. There are some elements in the brand that don't correspond to any known element."_ Jarvis said as Will got an idea.

Will walked over to his jacket and pulled out a small glass beaker capped with a cork. Inside was the meteor he took from the island. "What about this?" Will asked as he uncorked it and levitated the small rock out of the vial and moved it over to the scanner. Jarvis began scanning the meteor and ran a molecular breakdown and elemental scan.

" _Analysis and breakdown complete."_ Jarvis said as a holographic image of the rock's molecular structure appeared and it was incredibly unique. Similar to crystals but it had a self-sustaining energy system like it was alive and based on the scans, was easily a billion years old. " _Based on the scans I've run, it would seem that there is a similarity between this rock and the material used in your tattoo."_

Jarvis brought up the scans of Will's tattoo to show there was a 70% match in material used. "What exactly is that thing?" Tony asked.

"It's the meteor that gave me my powers. I found another one on the island." Will told him.

"And you brought it here?" Tony asked as he pressed a button and a protective cover shot up around the rock.

"I didn't know what to do. I couldn't just leave it there for someone else to stumble onto it and get powers that turn them into god knows what. It's safer with me. Besides, it's not like it can mutate me again." Will said.

" _And Mr. Detmer would be correct in that regard. Based on my analysis of the material, it would appear that the rock emits a unique radiation signature that is capable of causing a metamorphic change in individuals but since Mr. Detmer has already undergone his transformation, the rock is harmless. And based on my scans, the material is harmless to humans."_ Jarvis told him.

"So, could this rock transform other humans like it did me?" Will asked.

" _Possibly, yes. But based on my scans, the transformation would occur to only select individuals. Mr. Stark's DNA doesn't react to the substance so it would seem that an existing genetic anomaly or marker is required in a person's genetic history for a transformation like Mr. Detmer's to occur."_ Jarvis said.

"All right, then what about the tattoo?" Will asked.

" _Based on my scans of your tattoo and what you said transpired on the island that caused it to grow, my scans detect that the material in the brand reacted to your unique DNA structure. Upon continued exposure to the unique radiation from the meteor, it enhanced your physiology to the state it's in. But more tests will need to be conducted as there are still elements in the brand that I am unable to quantify."_ Jarvis told him.

"Would it help if I told you I got a vision when this happened and I think it might be a blood-ritual magic type of thing that caused this to happen?" Will asked as Jarvis didn't speak for a few seconds.

" _No, I don't believe it would."_ Jarvis told him.

Tony pressed a few buttons and the meteor was encased in a special glass/metal container for Will to carry. "Here, best to keep it locked up." Tony told him.

"Right." Will said as he took it and put it in his pocket. "Thanks, Tony. For all of this."

"Don't mention it, kid. Besides, any chance I can get to screw with Fury a bit, I'll take it." Tony said as Will chuckled. "So, will you tell him?"

"About the tattoo, maybe. The meteor, no. Until I learn more about whatever this thing is and why it only changes certain people, it's best if its secrets stay with me." Will said as Tony nodded. "Still, all of this is a little crazy. I didn't expect super soldier powers to come with the territory and whatever the hell this meteor is."

"Well, life only throws what we can handle kid. And with your new powers, you can handle a lot. Just keep your head on a swivel kid." Tony told him as Will nodded.

"Now, what about the strange metal?" Will asked as they walked over to the high-tech metal container that had the metal ore Will found on the island.

"That's an easier story." Tony said as he opened up the crate and took one of the metal shards that wasn't in a glass container. "It's Vibranium."

"Vibranium as in the metal used in Captain America's shield, the rarest metal on earth?" Will asked as Tony nodded. "How the hell did this stuff get on the island?"

"Not sure. Your guess is as good as mine. But this stuff is rarer than rare. Wakanda doesn't let any of their Vibranium out except for a few circumstances. My guess is that this stuff might have been stolen and the pirates got their hand on the stuff. I doubt they knew what this was." Tony said.

"Well, I should probably return this stuff then." Will said as Tony chuckled.

"Only you would think of doing something like that, kid. It's refreshing." Tony joked.

"Well, I'll return the ten in the containers. The three that aren't I'll keep as a souvenir. Think you can make some new body armor with one of them?" Will asked as Tony nodded.

"I can do that. How are you going to return the rest?" Tony asked.

"I'll figure it out." Will said as he pressed a few buttons on the computer to bring up the information on Wakanda. An isolated nation in Africa that most of the world thought was to be a third world nation, poor and out of touch with the rest of the world but for people like Tony and SHIELD, they knew the truth. Wakanda was actually one of the most advance and powerful nations in the world and the wealthiest because they controlled the world's only supply of Vibranium. Will brought up the information on the nation and the ruling family of King T'Chaka, Prince T'Challa, and Princess Shuri. "Wait a second…T'Challa?"

Will looked at the picture of the ruling family and recognized T'Challa. "Something wrong, kid?" Tony asked.

"What, no. I know T'Challa." Will said as Tony looked at him weird. **(1)**

"You know the prince of Wakanda?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, last year there was an exchange student at NYU. He was visiting for the year and we had a few classes together and became friends…I think. It was a little weird since he kind of kept to himself, but I heard he was visiting from Africa. He still owes me my notebook." Will said as he was surprised to learn that his old college friend and classmate was a prince and the heir to the throne of Wakanda. "That'll make getting a meeting easier than I thought."

"Well, then you'll get to prove it. The King and Prince will be in New York in November for the meeting at the UN to deal with the next Human Rights Committee. Wakanda may be an isolationist nation, but the King's smart enough to keep in contact with the world for future threats." Tony said.

"Good to know. I wonder if I'll get my notebook back." Will said as Tony looked at him. "What? It was my favorite college bound notebook."

"Kid, with all the money, gold and jewels you found, you're a millionaire now. Some smart investments and you'll be a billionaire. Take it from me, college bound is nothing to tech." Tony said as Will chuckled. Will would have retorted when his phone went off and saw it was from Coulson. He wanted Will to come down to the SHIELD office in Manhattan, now. "Let me guess, Agent eye patch needs you?"

"Coulson, actually. I wonder what he wants. Tony, look after the Vibranium for me?" Will asked.

"Sure thing, kid. Remember, lying is as much a mind game as it is a physical one. With your new body, it should be easier." Tony told him as Will just shook his head and left Stark Tower. He got on his motorcycle and drove to the SHIELD office. He parked his bike on the street and walked into the office, going over to the front desk where they had him check in and give him a temporary id badge. He walked through the checkpoint and two security guards escorted him to Director Fury's office.

They walked down the hall to Fury's office where he saw Agent Coulson waiting for him. "I'll take it from here, gentlemen. Thank you." Coulson said as they nodded and left. "The Director's waiting."

Coulson and Will walked in to see the Director standing by his desk with Commander Hill but Romanoff and Barton were also there as well. Will walked in and stood at attention in front of Director Fury's desk. "Director."

"Mr. Detmer. How was your visit with Stark?" Fury asked as Will wasn't surprise that he knew he went to see Tony.

"Educational. I'm starting to understand how this happened." Will looked down at the tattoo. "Jarvis says that my transformation is finished."

"And as to how this took place?" Fury asked.

"Not sure at the moment, sir but Jarvis assures me that this can't happen to just anyone. My unique physiology is why I changed. This can't happen to anyone else." Will told them as Fury looked at him, not convinced by his answer.

"Shame. And Mr. Detmer, if you're gonna work for SHIELD, you'll want to learn how to lie more convincingly." Fury told him as Will didn't react.

"I've never been a good liar, sir. Part of my charm." Will said as Barton chuckled.

"Don't think of it as lying, more of selective truths." Romanoff told him.

"Isn't that just a different word for lying?" Will asked as Fury stood up and walked over to the window.

"Mr. Detmer…what does SHIELD stand for?" Fury asked as Will looked at him.

"The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division." Will replied.

"And what does that mean to you?" Fury asked as he looked at him. "What is SHIELD's goal?"

"Protection. We protect the planet and people from enemies or technology that would do them harm." Will told him.

"Exactly." Fury said as he walked over to Will. "The purpose SHIELD was founded on was pure, protection. One word, whether it's to protect one man when he becomes a danger to himself or to protect the planet from destroying itself from nuclear annihilation. But the fundamental belief that drives use is the same whether it's one man or all mankind."

"That people are worth protecting." Will said as Fury nodded.

"I've been doing this long before you were even born, Mr. Detmer. Long before SHIELD, I've seen enough of the world and have seen man's cruelty against one another. Even for your age, you've seen your fair share." Fury said as Will nodded. "My time has changed my view on life, Detmer, and not for the better, I'll admit that. I can count the people I trust on one hand and I'm not afraid to cut off fingers. I've seen and done things that show how cruel this world can be but it's always been for protection. You're different, Mr. Detmer."

Will looked at him for a moment before Fury walked over to his desk. "You've stared into the eyes of the devil and you didn't blink. You came out stronger for it. You saved your friends on the island and risked everything to save your family in Paris. Now, while those actions were risky and dangerous, it showed how much you believe in what SHIELD stands for…what everyone in this room stands for, despite the ways we may go about it. You've acted as the muscle. Now…" Fury came out from the desk and held out a small black wallet. "You'll be the heart. Welcome to SHIELD."

Will was frozen a bit as he took the badge and opened it to see a SHIELD badge complete with a metallic SHIELD logo. His name and picture were printed on the badge along with the badges serial number and activation date. "Thank you, sir. For everything." Will said as Fury nodded.

"You've earned this, Mr. Detmer." Fury told him as Will nodded.

"Your training and path isn't the same as a typical operative but your circumstance is a little different." Hill said.

"You've accomplished tasks and have been put in situations that are reserved for level 5 operatives and higher. Granted, they weren't completed to SHIELD standards but they were completed nonetheless. From now on, SHIELD will only accept the best." Coulson said.

"Well, SHIELD will be getting Will Detmer's best." Will retorted.

"Somehow, I think we can make that work." Barton said as Romanoff chuckled.

"I'll only get harder from here on out, Will. You know that, right? All the training and everything you've been through will seem like practice compared to what's coming." Romanoff told him.

"I'm ready." Will said as he looked at Fury. "You wanted an Avenger, you've got one when you make the call."

Fury nodded as he admired Will's eagerness and spirit but he still had some way to go. "So, if you're going to be a specialist like me and Clint, you'll need a codename. Any idea?" Romanoff asked as Will hadn't figure out an alias or codename.

"It'll come to me." Will said as he faced Director Fury. "So, what's next?"

"Hill and Coulson will get you adjusted to how things run at SHIELD. And when we have a mission, you'll know." Fury said as Will nodded. He then looked at Coulson who held up a manila folder.

"And there's this." Coulson handed Will the file and he saw it had his name on it. "Everything regarding your abilities and origin is locked under level 10 clearance which is only accessible by the Director. When we did our initial observation into you, we did a thorough investigation that also included information as to your adoption."

"What is this?" Will asked.

"Information on your birthparents." Coulson told him as Will looked down at the file. There was actual information on where he came from literally in his hands. "We found genetic matches for your mother and father…one of whom was already in our system."

Will looked at Coulson and then around the room. "They're not the in room, are they?" Will asked as Coulson shook his head no.

"We figured that if you made it this far, you would want to know where you came from. We did the work for you." Coulson said as Will looked at the file.

"I'd be lying if I wasn't curious as to where I came from but it would lead to one of three answers. That I was a mistake, my birth parents are dead or they didn't want me." Will said as he looked down at the file. "Besides, I think it might be a little late for a family reunion. Thank you, though. I'll see you tomorrow."

Will left the SHIELD building and drove back home to get some rest. He ate some dinner and got ready for bed, knowing tomorrow he'd get a real look into how SHIELD operates and begin his journey as a SHIELD operative and an Avenger. Will got out of the shower and put on some shorts. He walked into the kitchen to get some water when he noticed the file on the kitchen counter, the file on his birth parents. A part of him really didn't care to know why his parent's didn't keep him but there was a small tinge in his mind that wanted to know who they were. Will walked into the kitchen and grabbed a beer to calm the nerves. He drank the whole thing with gusto and didn't feel anything. The one downside to the new super soldier upgrade is that he can't get drunk. He then walked over to the cabinet and poured himself a small glass of whiskey and took a sip.

He sat down at the counter, took another sip of whiskey and looked down at the file, debating with himself if he should or shouldn't open it. Sort of like his own Schrodinger's cat. He grabbed his whiskey glass and downed it in one before taking a breath and opening the file. The first few pages were about Will and the information SHIELD must have gotten from his hospital records before his power incident. They included his blood tests and DNA records when they were still human.

He turned the page and saw one genetic match for his mother… _ **Carol Danvers.**_

She is a Captain in the US Air Force and the file said she was a Security Chief for a restricted military base and special projects. Will looked at the old pictures from the 90s and a current one and she was beautiful. She was supposed to be in her late 30s, possibly you would think 40, maybe 41 but her current picture made her look like she was in her late 20s or early 30s. Whatever she did for her skin was working. Will looked over the file and saw there wasn't a lot of information like Coulson and Fury left some stuff out or they didn't know a lot, Will couldn't tell. But he also saw that according to the information she wasn't married which only fed his theory that he was a mistake of a one-night stand. **(2)**

He then turned the page to see the information on his father… _ **John Garrett**_ **.** He's a SHIELD Specialist with a long history of combat and espionage in both the army and SHIELD. He's a Level 7 operative like Coulson, Romanoff, and Barton and based on all the information that Coulson did give him, Garrett was a heck of a soldier. He completed dozens of missions during his time with SHIELD and he's helped a lot of people, but Will also saw that Garrett was listed as single with no next of kin. He never married and didn't know that Will was alive.

Will closed the file and took a deep breath. He now knew where he came from and who his birth parents were. He honestly felt he would feel some kind or relief like a huge weight had been lifted but he didn't feel any different. These people may have created him, but they weren't his parents. Besides, now that he was with SHIELD, it was a little late for a family reunion or attempt to make peace considering his life would be filled with secrets and missions. He was fine without them for 23 years and he didn't need them now. It's not like they would become a big part of his life.

If only Will knew how wrong that statement was.

 **End of Chapter 3**

 **I hoped you guys liked Chapter 3. Will's friends are safe, he's off the island and now he's officially a SHIELD agent. Thanks to the mystical Tatau, Will is now technically a super soldier so his life gets only more complicated and it won't be long before some curious SHIELD scientist or the World Security Council tried to sink their claws in. Next time, Will's journey with SHIELD leads him to discover a living legend, some more missions that prove his skill and what he stands for but most of all, he meets people that can finally fill in the blanks on what the hell he is. Until next time.**

 **If you guys were hoping the Far Cry 3 mission would last longer, I'm sorry but realistically with Will and his powers and training, it wouldn't have lasted longer and he wouldn't have gone through everything the same way Jason would have. Will's more skilled and he's smart enough to know crazy when he sees it. He's not someone to get suckered in to what Citra and Dennis preach. And he's more skilled and that along with his powers make handling the situations a lot easier as well as taking care of Vaas and Hoyt. For these situations, think of Will's movements and actions with guns and rifles similar to John Wick from the Wick movies. That's a good mental representation of how Will fights with guns. In hand to hand combat, think of a mix between Green Arrow from Arrow and Captain America.**

 **Thanks to a guest review that reminded me that according to the Far Cry 3 wiki, the Tatau enhances the user's skills such as speed and strength and as it grows the user gets stronger. Obviously for the game it reflects Jason's skill level but for a realistic case it would mystically enhance Will's body to super soldier levels, to about the same degree as Captain America with some caveats. I hoped you liked the little exploration and discovery that the first Rakyat was actually someone like Will but centuries ago. He performed a magical ritual with the meteor and when he drew the Tatau, it enhanced his body to super soldier levels. So when Dennis draws the base lines of the Tatau on his arm and they interact with Citra's wrist band and the meteor fragment in the blade, it causes the Tatau to spread and enhance his body. Since Will is just like the original Rakyat, only someone with his blood can change. Even though Citra had the wristband and came into contact with the meteor like Will did, she doesn't have the genetic marker for a metamorphosis.**

 **Will's friends will show up later when the Agents of SHIELD arc starts. You now know who Will's birth parents are and they'll come to feature in later chapters, especially Garrett during Agents of SHIELD and Carol Danvers during Avengers 4.**

 **1). It's never mentioned in the MCU, but in the comics T'Challa received the best education in the world, getting degrees from all over the world. Before he can assume the mantle of king, he trains both physically as well as mentally. I liked this idea because it would give me an actual reason for why Will and T'Challa know each other. They have a pre-existing relationship in a positive manner, granted they're not best friends but T'Challa knows Will and from their previous interactions, he has no negative mindset about him. In the MCU, I believe T'Challa and Kilmonger are the same age during the Black Panther movie, so around their late 20s early 30s, which makes Will a little younger then them.**

 **2). Yes, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel is Will's biological mother. Seeing as how Captain Marvel isn't out yet and we only know a little about the movie, a lot of this was just me making up some stuff to make it work. We do know that the Captain Marvel movie in 2019 will be set in the 90s when Carol is in the Air Force when she gets her powers. If the movie goes with Brie Larson's actual age, she'll be about in her late 20s, probably 29 when the movie takes place in the 90s which makes her the perfect age to be Will's biological mother who then gave him up for adoption. When the 4** **th** **Avengers movie takes place, she'll probably be in her late 30s or early 40s and even though she might not look it, it'll probably be explained. I personally think that her powers and Kree energy allow her to age slower so it's why she looked so young but we'll have to wait and see. Obviously, Carol Danvers won't be showing up anytime soon since her movie isn't out yet and it's in the 90s when Will was a kid but when she shows up in the 4** **th** **Avengers movie, Will and Carol will have a tense reunion. More of her past with John Garrett will come up in later chapters but now you know where Will came from.**

 **William Detmer**

 **Moniker=? (Seriously if you can come up with any ideas, please send them. I need help in this department)**

 **SHIELD Status:** Agent/ Avenger Candidate/ Special Operations, Tactics and Defense Specialist (SOTD)

 **Appearance:** Stephen Amell from Arrow, Season 1 build **.**

 **Combat gear:** Star-Lord Jacket from Guardians 1 but dark blue and white. His new outfit is Will's tactical combat outfit except no symbol or mask yet. Tactical Goggles from Black Lightning

 **Weapon:** Modified Heckler & Koch P30L handgun

 **Casual Outfit:** dark blue or black sneakers, jeans, blue or black t-shirt and either a zip-up hoodie, jacket, or button up over.

 **Born:** September 8th, 1988-Currently 23

 **Notable talents:** Genius level intellect, self-defense military training from Harold Detmer, knowledge, and training in 15 types of martial arts, gun knowledge and expert marksman trained by Clint Barton, espionage and spy skills trained by Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD tactics and medical training from Coulson and SHIELD trainers, well-crafted knowledge and understanding of psychology, knowledge, and experience with engineering both mechanical and electrical.

 **Personality:** Kind, caring, composed, attentive, intelligent, and driven. Can be a bit of a smartass.

When insulted, angered, or in a serious situation, focused and relentless. Considered dangerous and unforgiving in these types of situations.

Uses powers sparingly in the field unless absolutely needs to.

 **Powers: (If in bold, capable of doing now)**

 **Rakyat Tatau:** _Mystical tattoo that enhances speed, strength, stamina, intelligence, instincts, healing speed and metabolic function to absolute human peak potential. (Captain America Level Super Soldier)_

 **Telekinesis, the ability to impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other non-physical means: Power Level=Adept**

 **Binding-** _to keep an object/being from moving_

 **Levitation-** _to lift an object_

Orbital Field-to makes objects and energy orbit around user

 **Telekinetic Shield** - _to create a shield of telekinetic energy around user or others/strength of shield depends on mental strength and focus of user_

 **Psionic Speed-** _to augment user's physical speed_

 **Psionic Strength-** _to augment user's physical strength_

Telekinetic Bullet Projection-projecting telekinetic energy as bullets

 **Telekinetic Choking** - _to strangle someone with telekinesis_

 **Telekinetic Grip-** _To grasp an object firmly in place_

 **Telekinetic Maneuver-** _to alter an object's directional course_

 **Telekinetic Pull & Push-** _to pull or push objects away from user_

Molecular Manipulation-to manipulate matter at molecular level

Telekinetic Aura/Sense-To sense one's surroundings with telekinesis

 **Telekinetic Compression-** _to crush or compact an object_

 **Telekinetic Blast-** _to emit telekinetic energy as a blast of blue energy_

Telekinetic Destruction-to make an object explode

 **Telekinetic Flight** - _using telekinesis to fly_

 **Psionic Explosion** - _to create/discharge psychic energy across a wide range_

 **Telepathy, mentally receive or transmit information: Power Level=Adept**

 **Mind Reading** - _ability to read the thoughts of others (Range:1000ft)_

 **Memory Reading** _-the ability to read the target's memories_

Psychic Communication-the ability to secretly converse with others

Telepathic Speaking-to speak aloud using the mind

 **Download** _-the ability to process/download information of another person (If used in a violent or angry mood, can harm the victim)_

 **Knowledge Replication** - _the ability to replicate learned knowledge and skills_

Knowledge Projection-the ability to project knowledge to another

 **Rapid brain activity** - _the ability to process and understand information at incredible rates_

 **Mental Inducement** - _The ability to temporarily put the targets mind into the wanted state_

Mental Hallucination-the ability to cause mental hallucinations

Mind Link-the ability to develop a permanent mental bond with any person

 **Mind Walking/Melding** - _to enter another's consciousness_

 **Precognition awareness-** _six sense awareness of imminent danger_

 **Telepathic Prediction** - _the ability to know a person's moves by reading their brain waves_

Astral Projection-to separate one's mind from their body and explore physical plane

Telepathic Surgery-the ability to perform neuropsychic surgery, healing and/or damaging the mind

Memory/Mental Manipulation-the ability to manipulate a target's memories and mind

Clairvoyance-the ability to gain direct visual information through non-physical means

 **Foresight** - _the ability to foresee possible future events and observe what may happen (Completely random at the moment. Needs certain triggers to activate)_

 **Thanks for the continued support and as long as you guys enjoy what I write, I'll keep writing,**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHIELD or any Marvel Properties, they belong to their respective owners, I'm just a fan.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is Chapter 4. Will is now officially a SHIELD Agent and an Avenger Candidate. His old life is gone and his new one begins. His journey has some obstacles but nothing he can't handle. His first mission it turns out takes him to the Artic where an O84 is called and he discovers it's not a weapon. Then he's brought to Antarctica where he finds himself in the middle of a bloody fight and shows why he is one of Earth's best defenders. And he meets people like him that can fill in the gaps as to who he is and why he's like this. Enjoy!**

 **The Perfect One: The Royals meet the Perfected**

 **Artic: October 2011**

It's been about a month since Will became a full-fledged SHIELD agent/specialist and in that time, Coulson got him acclimated to how things worked. He was a level 2 agent considering he just started so he was kept on a very limited basis of information. Fury tasked Coulson to watch over him until further notice because of his unique situation. To everyone else at SHIELD, he was just a new level 2 agent who was supposedly gifted. Only Fury, Hill, Coulson, Romanoff, and Barton knew who he really was. His powers and abilities were locked under level 10 clearance level but his identity was a different matter. The only thing other agents would know about him was his name and that's it. Fury told Will specifically to keep his identity as much of a secret as possible. Obviously walking around SHIELD bases people would see him but unless asked by a high-ranking agent, he was not to give out his name. His designation at the moment was _Agent O or Omega_ , seeing as Will still hadn't come up with a valid codename for himself. The Omega was something Romanoff came up with. It was in context with the phrase _I am the Alpha and Omega_ , or the beginning and the end. The end of his old life to the beginning of his new one. Will wasn't sure how he felt about it but it would do for now.

He was on a mission to the Artic as SHIELD got a call about something found there. A Russian oil team found something odd in the ice and they were being sent to investigate. Will was decked out in cold-weather SHIELD gear and his new combat uniform Tony made. Tony took two of the Vibranium cores that Will kept and turned it into armor and weapons. Will's new outfit was a blend of special polymer blends and weaved material that made his outfit tear resistant along with a special Vibranium micro-weave mesh underneath, so his entire outfit was bulletproof. It was explosive proof to some degree, but Tony told him to not test that. The special polymer blends and Vibranium gave him the perfect combination of protection and mobility without extra weight but considering his new strength, it wasn't that much of an issue. Tony also made him special forearm guards and battle gloves. They were made up of Vibranium as well and Tony designed them as his main close combat weapons. His right forearm guard had two wrist-mounted retractable blades that extend to about 18 inches out. They were made up of a steel alloy/Vibranium combination, so they were deadly and could slice through just about anything. He left forearm guard had a small touchpad computer and miniature retractable arm shield. **(1)**

His combat outfit was partially inspired by what he wore on the island as it took the look of the hunting jacket he wore, but more refined and modern. His jacket and pants were colored black with streaks and lines of dark blue to help Will blend in for covert missions or urban camouflage…and Will liked blue as a color. Plus, it kind of fit since his powers seemed to be colored blue. He had two shoulder straps that held small explosive, flashbang or any other kind of specialty pellets and his handy pistol was strapped to his right leg with a holster for easy quick draw. He had a belt that would contain anything else he would need on a mission like extra ammo, tactical supplies, or anything of that nature. He had a small band of dark blue flechettes or small throwing arrows attached to bands around the ankles of his boots for quick throwing when he needed it. His hood was colored the same and Tony made a retractable combat mask for him. He pressed a button on the collar and it formed around his face so if he wore his hood, you wouldn't know who he was. The mask provided him with oxygen and filtered out smoke and toxins, had an advanced HUD display with a variety of complex vision modes. **(2)**

And the last thing he had were two small metal orbs made up of pure Vibranium. Tony used two of the three Vibranium cores to make combat clothes and weapons. The last core Tony purified, and Will managed to separate and compress them into two small metal orbs about the size of a half dollar coin. Will was able to use his powers to levitate and manipulate them. He could expand them into a flat circular shield or make Vibranium swords or anything he could think of. They were some of his best weapons as Will could shot them out faster than bullets and with them being Vibranium, they could tear through brick, steel and even tear up the ground with ease. **(3)**

They arrived at the nearby airbase and took a snowplow through a snow storm to the meet the Russian Oil Team. Will's jacket hoodie and combat mask were up as the snow would make just being in this weather tough. The snowplow drove them through the weather when they saw their contact standing in the snow with a beacon. The plow stopped, and they got out.

"You guys from Washington?!" He asked.

" **We are!"** Will shouted back as his mask was distorting his voice. **"How long have you been on sight?!"**

"Since this morning! A Russian Oil called it in about 18 hours ago!" He told them.

"How come nobody spotted it before?!" Agent Donnelly asked. He was one of the agents who was also on sight.

"It's really not that surprising! This landscape is changing all the time! Any idea what this thing is exactly?!" He asked.

" **That's what we're here to find out!"** Will told him.

"It's probably just a weather balloon!" Agent Donnelly said.

"I don't think so! We don't have the equipment for a job like this!" The contact told them.

"How long before we can start craning it out?!" Donnelly asked.

"I don't think you guys understand! You're gonna need one hell of a crane!" He told them as he and Will finally saw what the object was, and it was some kind of giant plane. Will had the SHIELD team on sight set up equipment and get the laser cutter to begin cutting a hole through the plane's hull, so they could see what was inside.

The laser cutter sliced through the metal and Will jumped down, his feet clanking on the metal of the hull. He pulled out a high-powered flashlight and began walking through the area as the other agents rappelled down and followed him. Will looked around and found himself in some kind of hull of a ship. He walked around and made his way to an open area when he noticed a lot of snow and ice piled up around what looked like an old chair. He shined his flashlight on the ice when his mask detected some kind of object in there. He focused his vision on the mound of ice and his mask showed some streak of red. He walked over and knelt by the ice, using his hand to move some of the snow off and what he saw made him speechless.

" **Oh my god."** Will said as Donnelly looked at him. **"Agent Donnelly, contact Fury!"**

"It's 7am." Donnelly told him.

" **Then wake him up. This has been waiting here for long enough."** Will said as he saw a red, white, and blue star symbol on a circular disk…the shield of Captain America. They immediately began excavating the area. With some time, they managed to get Roger's body out of the ice and they took him to the nearest SHIELD facility where scientists and doctors began thawing his body for analysis. It took some time, but they eventually managed to thaw him out and it seemed like there was no degenerative results of what happened.

The doctors detected faint heart beat indicating that he was somehow still alive. Will did a brain scan and found his mind was still active, but he was in some kind of deep sleep. And he found no issues with his brain function or any sign of damage. He checked the captain's memories and the last thing that happened was the Captain was fighting the Red Skull, the Red Skull disappeared, and the Captain had to down the plane to stop Hydra's attempt to wipe out the US. Once the Captain was thoroughly thawed out and stabilized, they had him transferred to the base in New York.

Will was in the New York base looking over some data the analysts were archiving about supposed 084 activity that had to do with some energy lab in California when the alarm went off. _"All agents! Code 13! I repeat; All agents, code 13!"_ The intercom went off as Will ran out of the room and saw someone barrel through the guards so Will ran after him. He ran out of the building and stopped on the street as Will got a good look at him and it was Captain America.

"Captain, wait!" Will shouted as Captain America just ran down the road. "Dammit!"

Will activated his mask and followed him. He ran after the Captain and because of his enhanced physiology was he able to keep up. They ran for 5 blocks before the Captain found himself in Time Square, and in shock and confusion was frozen in place. Will ran up to him as other SHIELD agents began to secure the area and keep pedestrians away. **"Captain, stop! We mean you no harm!"** Will told him.

"At ease, soldier!" They heard as they saw Fury was there.

"Perfect timing, Director." Will said as he deactivated his mask but kept his hood up to conceal himself from the crowd. Fury then walked up to the Captain who was still confused as to what was going on.

"Look I'm sorry about that little show back there, but we thought it best to break it to you slowly." Fury told him.

"Break what?" Rogers asked.

"You've been asleep cap. For almost 70 years." Fury told him as Rogers didn't know how to respond to that. Rogers looked around at this new world that was 70 years from the time he knew, and he was no idea what to do. "Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah…it's just…I had a date." Rogers somberly said as he realized that everyone he knew was likely dead. They took Rogers back to the SHIELD base and put him in one of their recovery rooms. He was given some food and time alone while Fury got things in order to take Rogers to the Retreat, a special room built by Bruce Banner where Rogers would stay for a little bit.

Rogers was in his room, listening to music when there was a knock at the door. The door opened slightly, and Will peaked his head in. "Captain Rogers, can I come in?" Will asked as he nodded. Will walked in, still wearing his combat gear but with his hood down. "I can only imagine what you're going through, so I won't ask you how your doing. I just wanted to check in. I was with the team that found you in the Artic."

Rogers looked at him and saw he was a young kid, probably in his early 20s. "Thank you for saving me." Rogers said to him as Will nodded.

"You're welcome. And I'm sorry it had to be like this and not 70 years earlier." Will said as Rogers looked at him. "I'm William Detmer. Just call me Will."

Will held out his hand and Rogers shook it. "How old are you?" He asked.

"23." Will said. "I'm a recent SHIELD Agent."

"You look young for this type of work." Rogers told him.

"You're not the first one to tell me that but my situation was a unique case." Will said as he looked at the food tray in Roger's room and levitated the jello off the tray and over to him. Rogers was in awe at what he was seeing. "The world's gotten weirder since you've been gone."

"Trust me, I doubt there's much that'll surprise me." Rogers said as Will chuckled.

"You'd lose that bet." Will joked. He sniffed the jello and pulled his nose away. "Yeah, I wouldn't eat this either. But I did bring something you might enjoy."

A bag behind Will's back levitated in front of them and placed on the table. Will walked over and took out a six pack of Orange Cream Soda, Root Beer and Dr. Pepper. Rogers chuckled as Will held one out and he took a Root Beer. "I haven't had one of these in years." Rogers said.

"I've experienced first hand the food here and it's not the best. And it's usually against protocol for this kind of thing but I've been known to bend the rules a bit." Will said as Rogers chuckled. He uncapped the root beer and took a sip, the familiar taste rushing down his throat. "How is it?"'

"Just like I remember." Rogers said with a smile as Will then reached into the bag and pulled out a bag of Salt Water Taffy from James Candy Company in Atlantic City. "James?"

"Yeah, you know James?" Will asked as Rogers looked at the bag.

"I remember taking a trip there once in 39. Place was a madhouse but sold the best Salt Water Taffy there was." Rogers said as he looked at Will. "It's still around?"

"Yeah. The boardwalk's changed but some stuff has stuck around." Will said with fondness.

"You know it?" Rogers asked.

"Born and raised in Atlantic City all my life. The Boardwalk is essentially my backyard. I figured you could do with some comfort food." Will said as Rogers smiled.

"Thank you, Will. This means a lot." Rogers said as Will nodded.

"More than happy to." Will replied.

"So, what brought you to work for SHIELD?" Rogers asked.

"They sought me out. I wasn't born like this…it happened to me. SHIELD found me eventually and helped explain what happened to me and they've been helping train me." Will said.

"Do you parents know about this?" Rogers asked as Will cleared his throat.

"They passed away." Will said as Rogers regretted asking that. "It's fine, you didn't know. But they're the reason why I'm here. The world's still a dangerous place and I've helped a lot of people so far. With SHIELD, I can help more."

"Well, the world's lucky to have you." Rogers said.

"I should be the one saying that. The whole world knows what you did during World War 2. The world owes you a great debt, Captain. Let me start to repay that." Will said as Cap looked down at the soda in his hand.

"You've already started." He said as he and Will cheers their drinks. They talked a little more as Will helped Rogers deal with everything and he felt that coming out of being frozen, having someone to talk to would help. Eventually, he was taken to the Retreat where he would stay for a while to get acclimated, but Will knew that Fury would want Captain America working with SHIELD.

 **Manhattan, New York: November 2011**

At the UN Headquarters by the East River, dozens of delegates had arrived for a three day conference with the Human Rights Committee. Delegates from nations all over the world had come and it made Manhattan essentially a madhouse with the NYPD, the FBI, the NSA, CIA, and even SHIELD on high alert for anything to happen. Will arrived at the UN in his casual clothes and drove his dad's pickup truck to the service entrance. He was halted at the gate, but he showed them his SHIELD Badge and after they validated his credentials he was let through. They secured the container and the Security guards would help him escort it through the building after they did a security check.

King T'Chaka and Prince T'Challa were in a guest office to use for the conference at the UN. Since Wakanda was an isolationist nation with a few circumstances when the King ventured out, there wasn't an official suite designated for the Wakanda nation. The UN gave them a temporary one and once the King's special guard made sure the room was secure, they used it for their short visit to the city.

King T'Chaka was at a desk, looking over some papers as his son was staring at some of the stock photos on the wall. Some of the building when it was first built while others were of former members of the UN Staff and visiting ambassadors. They were brought out of their own thoughts when there was a knock at the door and Okoye walked in.

"My king." Okoye greeted.

"Yes, what is it Okoye?" T'Chaka asked.

"There is a visitor here to see the Prince." Okoye said as T'Challa and T'Chaka were curious as to who was here.

"Who is it?" T'Challa asked.

"He told me to tell you that he is an old friend from NYU. And that he would like the psychology notebook you borrowed back." Okoye said as T'Challa was a bit confused when he remembered something.

"Let him in." T'Challa said as Okoye nodded. She walked back out of the room and returned with two more of the King's special guard and the visitor and T'Challa instantly recognized him.

Will stood in the office suite feeling a little underdressed as everyone was wearing formal business attire, including the King and Prince while he was dressed casually. But he wasn't there for business, just for a visit.

"Will." T'Challa said as T'Chaka looked at his son in confusion.

"Yup, it's me. So, can I get my notebook back?" Will joked as T'Challa chuckled.

"I believe I gave it back to you after class." T'Challa told him.

"No, you didn't. I have a pretty good memory and I don't remember getting it back. Don't worry, I'll just bill you for it." Will joked as T'Challa chuckled. "Good to see you old friend."

"And you as well." T'Challa walked forward and shook his hand as Will shook back. "What brings you here?"

"I heard you'd be in town and I thought I'd visit. Plus, I have something to give you." Will said as he looked at King T'Chaka and bowed his head in respect. "King T'Chaka."

"Hello, I don't believe we know one another." T'Chaka said as T'Challa stepped forward.

"Father, this is an old friend from my time here in New York for school. This is William Detmer." T'Challa introduced his father to an old friend. "Will, this is my father."

"It's an honor to meet you, King T'Chaka." Will bowed his head in respect as the King bowed back and then shook Will's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." T'Chaka replied.

"I heard about what happened to your parents, Will. I'm sorry." T'Challa said as Will nodded.

"Thank you, T'Challa. A lot didn't happen the way I thought it would in college but you adapt to what life gives you. And I've…made my peace with it at the moment." Will said as T'Challa nodded. "My life hasn't gone the way I expected it to but I'm good now. And my new life is actually why I'm here. I believe I have something that belongs to your country."

Will motioned them to wait for one second as he walked back outside. They heard something moving and Will pushed a military grade container into the room as Okoye and the other guards reached for their weapons. "Don't worry, it's not an explosive or weapons." Will pushed the container into the room and unlocked the latches. "It's something a little more valuable than that."

Will opened the container to reveal 10 cores of pure Vibranium. Once they saw what was inside, the guards lowered their hands as T'Challa walked forward to check that it was the real thing. He picked up one of the glass containers and looked it over to see it was real Vibranium. "Vibranium cores. Figured they should be returned to their rightful owners." Will said.

"How did you come by these?" T'Chaka asked as he walked forward and took one of the glass containers.

"It's a bit of a long story that I can't go into full detail but the gist of it is that a vacation with my friends didn't go as we thought. A little run in with some pirates led me to one of their cash troves and I found this there. Figured it was important. I brought it back to the states and when I learned it was Vibranium, I knew it should be returned to its rightful owners. It's why I'm here today." Will said as T'Challa looked at him. "Wakanda isn't exactly a Delta airlines destination and this was the only time you were in the city. I had to make it work."

"Well, thank you William for returning our stolen Vibranium to us. But may I ask how you know about this metal or about us?" T'Chaka asked.

"I'm not exactly allowed to say but Tony Stark helped me. Although it was a surprise to learn that T'Challa was actually a prince. If I knew that before, I'd have asked him to pay for all those lunches I covered him for." Will joked, causing T'Challa to chuckle. "Anyway, once Tony told me what this was, I figured it was best to return it. If the pirates had it on the island, it was probably stolen."

"Thank you, my friend." T'Challa said as Will nodded his head. "Any man once they figured out what this was would have sold it to the highest bidder."

"Well, I'm not like most men. It's against my genetic code to do something like that." Will said as T'Chaka was starting to view him in a different light.

"Thank you for returning this to us. If there is anything we can do for you, all you have to do is ask." T'Chaka told him.

"Thank you, King T'Chaka but I don't need anything." Will said as the King nodded. "I'll just take an IOU for the future."

"And I will honor it to the best of my ability." T'Challa said as Will nodded.

"Hopefully, I won't need to use it." Will said as he really hoped that he wouldn't need to use T'Challa's favor in the future and if he did…it wouldn't be because something bad happened.

Line Break xxxxx

 **Atlantic City, New Jersey: January 2012**

Will was back at home getting some R&R after a few missions. He had recovered a stolen Encrypted Log key from a North Korean operative, help a team deal with a terrorist plot in Syria, and protect a SHIELD asset transfer to the UK. Because of his success, he had been promoted to a level 3 agent. He was given a few days leave for some rest and recovery, so he was using that time productively. He was in his kitchen having just eaten a nice hardy lunch and was working on a little project. Will liked working with Jarvis and liked the idea of having something like that to help in the field. He asked Tony for a basic neuromorphic matrix to build his own Natural Language artificial intelligence program.

Will was sitting at the kitchen counter, working on the program for his own AI. He used the basis from Tony but was building the rest from scratch. Kind of difficult but a few lessons from Tony and some research and he was familiar with what to do. He was just finished with programing the language software, so he walked up to grab a drink when his enhanced hearing picked up the sound of something moving in the backyard…much bigger than a deer or dog. Will walked over to the closet and grabbed his combat jacket and zipped it up. He grabbed his pistol, strapped it in place and slowly opened the door to the backyard.

"Hello?" Will called out as he kept his pistol holstered. "Anyone out there?"

He slowly walked into the backyard and looked around to see some bushes and tree branches had been knocked down. Will unclipped his holster and put his hand on the grip. "Whoever's out there…please get off my property!" Will shouted as he heard some movement so he unholstered his gun and pointed it at the trees. "I know your out there! Come out now!"

"I come in peace." He heard a male voice speak as a man walked out in a black cloak. "Relax, I came to find you. You're one of us."

"One of who?" Will asked as the man removed his hood and Will was frozen in shock. His skin was green, he had marks on his neck like gills and some kind of point on his head like a fin.

"We are Inhumans. My name is Triton. I know this must be confusing, but you've been exposed to Terrigen and you've changed. I came to help you. There's a place for people like us, for all Inhumans. The City of Attilan." Triton told him as Will was both intrigued and skeptical. "I came to bring you there."

"Look, I don't know who you are but I'm not going anywhere." Will told him as Triton slowly walked forward.

"Please, it's for your safety." Triton told him.

"I can take care of myself." Will read his mind and despite the crazy story, Triton was telling the truth or at least believed he was. With Will busy using his telepathy, Triton acted.

"Lockjaw, now!" Triton shouted as he grabbed Will and they vanished from Will's backyard and appeared in some courtyard. Will grappled with Triton and tossed him away, sending him flying through the courtyard and crashing onto a bench. Will looked around and saw civilians in the courtyard but then turned and saw a giant bulldog the size of a cow standing right there. The dog looked at Will and sniffed him when he heard rapid movement in the courtyard. He turned and saw people dressed in black military like clothing and armed with weapons.

"Halt!" The woman shouted as Will ran away, the civilians quickly getting out of his way as he was chased. Will put up his hood, activated his mask and called SHIELD.

" **This is Agent Omega, requesting immediate backup at my location. Unknown hostiles are in play!"** Will shouted into his masks communications link but there was no signal. **"Dammit!"**

Will looked around and saw clouds and blue sky, but he also saw a railing up ahead. Will stopped at the railing and saw he was in some kind of city and the courtyard was actually one floor of a massive complex. He heard movement behind him and more hostiles were coming for him. "Stop!" The woman shouted as Will jumped off the railing. She and the hostile ran to the railing to see the individual presumably fall to his death but to their surprise, he flew away and was heading to the edge of the dome.

"Engage Attilan's defenses and put out a wide alert!" She yelled into her comm bracelet and then looked at one of her men. "Contact Gorgon and alert King Black Bolt!"

Will flew through the city and noted a lot of the structures were unfamiliar to him. Bystanders who were going about their normal everyday lives looked up and saw a strange individual fly above them and head towards the dome. Will kept flying, thinking that he was getting away and would just fly to someplace he could call for backup when his danger sense kicked it, but he had no idea why.

It was too late as Will crashed into some kind of barrier and fell 50 feet onto the ground in a thud. The bystanders who witnessed the event just saw a strange man fly through the air and crash into the dome. Will groaned in pain as he retracted his mask and rubbed his forehead.

"What the hell was that?" Will stood up and walked forward when he hit the same barrier again. He touched it and saw that the clouds and clear blue sky was some kind holographic image. "Where the hell am I?!"

Will flew up in the air and looked around for some kind of exit. He flew along the barrier, hoping to see some kind of exit that led out of wherever he was, but he couldn't find any kind of exit. Will then flew upward, thinking that maybe it was just a wall like barrier, but his danger sense kicked in. He stopped to reached up and felt the barrier. He looked around and he was essentially trapped in some kind of dome. His danger sense kicked as he saw a bolt of lightning and a beam of energy heading for him. He raised his shield at the last second, so he couldn't raise a strong one and the impact sent him flying through the air and into a building. His shield had dented the wall as Will dropped to the ground and landed in a crouch in a courtyard.

The nearby bystanders witnessed the mysterious arrival land in the courtyard which was soon flooded with the Royal Guard and security. Will's danger sense kicked in as he rolled to the side and did a backflip to avoid being squashed by a large man with hoofs for feet. His impact cracked the ground into pieces and sent out a shockwave which Will managed to avoid because he was in mid backflip. He landed on his feet and saw his opponent, a tall black man with hoofs for feet. He charged at Will who ducked and dodged all his attacks with ease. Will ducked and did a leg sweep and then a spin kick to the chest, sending him flying away as the guards fired energy-based weapons at him but Will raised his telekinetic shield and blocked all them all.

An Asian man with face tattoos charged and attacked with a flurry of strikes and kicks but Will managed to block them all. Will grappled and locked arms with the man and used his enhanced strength to his advantage and threw him over his shoulder. The man got back to his feet as Will kicked out his leg, kneed him in the face and then threw him into a wall. Everything froze in place as the Asian man walked from his original place and looked at the situation, his mind going through complex calculations and probabilities as to what just happened. He analyzed the situation to the hundredth decimal for the hundredth time and realized that due to Will's enhanced physiology, he would lose in a straight hand to hand fight.

"Well, that won't work." Karnack said as he walked back to his original spot. "Let's keeps trying."

Will had just taken out Gorgon, so Karnack grabbed a stun pistol from a guard. "Let me borrow that." He said as he charged at Will. Will blocked and dodged all his attacks, locked his arm and threw him over his shoulder. Karnack got back to his feet and then quickly flipped to the side to avoid a leg sweep. Will threw out a spin kick as the man ducked and fired his stun gun, point blank at Will's chest and the impact knocked him to the ground. Will groaned as he felt his body seize up…he was hit with a stun gun. Karnack watched in amazement as the man managed to move. "Interesting."

Karnack shot him 10 more times and Will finally was knocked unconscious. The guards formed up and aimed their guns at the mystery man as Gorgon got up and walked over to his cousin. "Nicely done." He said to Karnack.

"It was a lot harder than it looked. It took more than 100 scenarios before I arrived at the favorable one. Whatever kind of Inhuman Triton brought here…he's unique." Karnack said as he zapped Will one more time and handed the gun back to the guard. "Restrain him and take him to Quiet Room. I want 20 guards stationed there. If he wakes, stun him again."

Auran nodded as she and a group of guards dragged the mystery man away while the bystanders were curious as to what was going on. "We must inform Black Bolt." Karnack said as Gorgon nodded.

Karnack and Gorgon walked to the throne room where King Black Bolt, Queen Medusa, Princess Crystal, Maximus, and Triton were waiting for them. Triton rubbed his side and shoulder as Crystal looked at him in worry.

"Are you all right, Triton?" She asked as Triton nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just a little sore." Triton said as he rubbed his side.

"Couldn't handle this one on your own?" Gorgon joked as Karnack looked at him.

"If you'll remember Gorgon, this one also took you out with ease and would have finished you if I didn't intervene." Karnack snapped at him.

"It's not my fault. The man somehow knew I was going to attack and moved out of the way." Gorgon told him.

"Not hard seeing as how loud your feet are." Karnack replied. "But the situation is under control at the moment and he's restrained in the Quiet Room, my king."

"Might I ask why this situation was needed in the first place?" Maximus asked as he stepped forward. "Why was Triton sent to Earth for one human?"

Black Bolt hand-signed while Medusa translated. "This is no ordinary human. The seers detected an active inhuman signature on earth. The first time in millennium. I had Triton go down to investigate and ordered him to bring him back to Attilan." Medusa said.

"Which didn't go smoothly." Triton said as he pressed some buttons on his comm link and a holographic image was displayed from the ceiling which showed everyone what Will looked like. "He was very skeptical about what I said and didn't seem to believe what I told him."

"Which is understandable. It's the rational thinking when a transformation from Terrigenesis occurs. It's obvious this man doesn't know the history of our people." Karnack said.

"Is he the only one?" Gorgon asked as Black Bolt replied.

"Yes. The seers didn't detect any other active Inhumans on earth." Medusa said.

"Then why now? Why after all this time?" Maximus asked, curious as to how an Inhuman was transformed on Earth.

"We don't know yet. But we've sent Kitang to take a blood sample and run a genetics test to figure out his abilities. Once he awakens, we will hopefully get some answers." Medusa said as Crystal looked at his picture.

"He's cute." She said as everyone looked at him. "What? He's cute for an Inhuman from Earth."

"Don't get too attached, Crystal." Medusa said as Black Bolt also signaled. "Determining his origin is one thing…if he's a threat is another."

"From what I saw, I would say yes." Karnack said.

The Royal Family went their separate ways until half an hour later when Black Bolt summoned them to the throne room and it was urgent. "We've assembled, Kitang. Do you have your report?" Medusa asked.

"Yes, Queen Medusa and I can speak for the whole Genetic Council when I tell you that the individual you brought from earth is indeed Inhuman." Kitang said.

"So, he somehow underwent Terrigenesis while on earth." Karnack said as Kitang shook his head no.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. While his DNA does show that he is Inhuman, there is something else at play as well." Kitang said as he held up a tablet and projected the DNA and molecular breakdown of Will's DNA to show a very complex DNA structure that was more refined then a typical Inhuman. They thought that since he was from earth and he was likely a descendant of their kin that were left when they moved to the moon that his Inhuman DNA wouldn't be a pure as theirs, but they were wrong. The DNA showed that it was just as a refined, clean, and pure as someone from the Royal Family Bloodline. It was clear that Will was Inhuman, but his transformation morphed his DNA in a different way than they thought.

"How is this possible?" Maximus asked, curious as to how this happened.

"What's wrong?" Crystal asked.

"It would appear that his DNA has undergone a different Terrigenesis then you anticipated King Black Bolt. As we assumed since he was from Earth and most likely a descendant of the Inhuman line that remained there, his DNA wouldn't be as refined as ours, but the opposite has occurred. His DNA shows just a refined structure and makeup on par with yours, my king." Kitang said. "And its resulted in a unique powerset as well. His body has been enhanced to heights we've never encountered with any Inhuman. And his brain is supercharged resulting in telepathy and telekinesis."

"There's never been a recording of multiple powers with an Inhuman. What kind of Terrigenesis did he undergo?" Karnack asked.

"He didn't undergo a simple Terrigenesis. We isolated a unique subdermal radiation in his DNA and found a match in our oldest records…it's Primagen." Kitang said as everyone was frozen in shock.

"Are you certain?" Maximus asked.

"While it's been a millennium since our first King was changed with Primagen, we recorded its unique signature incase we ever encountered another meteor. Its signature is a hundred percent match to the DNA of our guest from Earth. It would also explain why his transformation is so different than we anticipated and why he has a more advanced power set." Kitang said.

"After all these years there was another Primagen meteor on earth. Brother, we must go down there now and recover what remains. If we recover it, think of the wonders it could do for our people." Maximus said as Black Bolt hand-signed.

"If Primagen is down there and still in one piece, we will recover it. But you must also be aware of the stories we were told. Primagen, while powerful enough to cause a greater Terrigenesis, is barely stable after one use. It if was used on this human, then it will likely not be there." Medusa said.

"We'll find out once our arrival wakes up." Karnack said.

Will was put in the Quiet Room after Karnack knocked him out. He was restrained with ropes and magnetic handcuff binds and put on the bed there with a whole platoon of guards outside the room incase he tried something. Will groaned in pain as he felt like he was run over by a truck when he felt someone shaking him awake. He blinked his eyes to adjust to the light and saw 20 men armed with guns all around the room and pointed at his head. He saw the guy with hoofs and the man with tattoos in the room along with a tall man in black clothing, a shorter one standing next to him, and a woman in a purple dress and red hair.

Will tugged on the rope and he knew he could get free of those easily, but the magnetic handcuff binds would be a little tricky. "Easy, we don't want to harm you." Karnack said as Will held up the magnetic handcuffs. "Anymore than what already occurred but considering what happened, we needed to take precautions."

"You did cause a bit of a ruckus." Gorgon said.

"Sorry, but in my experience when a stranger brings you to some mysterious city with no apparent way out it's a perfectly reasonable response to cause a bit of a ruckus." Will said as he was using his telekinesis to undo the screws on the magnetic binds. "Where am I?"

"Attilan, home of the Inhumans." Medusa said as Will was confused.

"I'm guessing that's not in New Jersey." Will said as Medusa was confused. "Why am I here? Who do you work for? The North Koreans? Syria?"

Everyone looked at each other confused as Black Bolt hand-signed. "We mean you no harm, I can assure you. The binds and rope are for our protection." Medusa said.

"Why did you bring me here? What's all this for?" Will asked.

"We brought you here to keep you safe. You've experienced a big change as your life as a human is over and your journey as an Inhuman starts now." Karnack said as Will was confused.

"Ok, what's an Inhuman? You keep saying that so what does it mean? And who are you people?" Will asked, wanting some answers as Karnack stepped forward.

"Perhaps we should answer the first question. It'll help with the others. Do you believe in life existing beyond earth?" Karnack asked as Will curiously looked at him.

"I do." Will said as Karnack nodded.

"Then this will be a lot easier for you to take. Eons ago, an alien race known as the Kree were engaged in a massive intergalactic war. During that war, they needed to create something that would aid them in their conflict and that led them to earth. Kree scientists engaged in an experiment with the local population which happened to be mankind's earliest ancestors. These experiments were to create weapons for them to use and it resulted in the Inhumans. All of us here in the City of Attilan are of Inhuman blood…as are you." Karnack said as Will looked at him.

Will took a second to take all this in. He had read Karnack's mind and he was telling the truth. Coulson and Fury did tell Will that his DNA wasn't human and that the likely explanation was that he was part alien, and this only proved that they were right. But the whole story about some race called the Kree and ancient human experiments was a lot to take in. "How can we be Inhuman? I don't understand."

"The experiments were a success and our race was born, all of us with the genetic potential to transform and be something more. Another Kree faction came to earth and stopped the experiments. Our earliest Inhuman ancestors remained on earth and the Inhuman gene was passed through generations. After years of conflict with humans, we left the planet and came to the moon to establish Attilan." Karnack said as Will chuckled.

"Right, the moon? We're in a dome city on the moon." Will chuckled as he saw they were confused. "You're serious? We're on the freaking moon?! That's impossible! The US had astronauts land on the moon years ago and we've had satellites up since the 60s."

"We've taken measures so that our city isn't seen." Gorgon said as Will thought for a moment.

"To keep people from knowing about you, because if they know it wouldn't lead to benevolent means." Will understood why they did that. History was already full of examples of mankind's cruelty against one another. Against Inhumans, he didn't even want to think of what would happen. But he was curious about something if he was supposedly an Inhuman. "Ok, if you're all descendants of the original Inhumans and the gene is passed down, does the transformation trigger like puberty?"

Medusa looked at Black Bolt who nodded to her and he signed. "No. Before our transformation we share no discernable differences from humans except for our genetic makeup. But in order for us to undergo the transformation known as Terrigenesis and fully change into an Inhuman, we must be exposed to a compound known as Terrigen." Medusa said as Karnack held up a small blue crystal that Will noticed looked similar to the meteor that gave him his powers. "Once we're exposed to the Terrigen, we undergo Terrigenesis and become Inhuman." Medusa said as Will absorbed all this information.

"Ok, while I appreciate you being up front and honest with me, I think you've got me mixed up with someone else. I'm not an Inhuman. The thing that changed me and gave me my powers didn't look like that." Will told them.

"Did it look like this?" Kitang pressed a few buttons on his tablet and a small holographic image was projected out. Will looked and saw it was an image of the same meteor that gave him his powers and the one he found on the island. Will did his best to hide his reaction but they could all tell that he recognized it.

"What is that?" Will asked.

"It's known as Primagen." Kitang said as Will looked at him. "It's one of the rarest compounds in the entire universe. It was said that this element was responsible for the earliest evolutions in the galaxy, including the Kree themselves. When the Kree starting the Inhuman experiments, they sought to use Primagen but because they had a very limited supply of it, they made their own."

"Terrigen? It's an artificial Primagen." Will said as Kitang nodded.

"Yes. But it being artificial, the results weren't what they were expecting. When they abandoned their project, they left before they could secure all their material. One of our earliest kings found a Primagen sample the Kree left behind and used it becoming the first Primagen Inhuman. Ever since, we've recorded and tried to find another Primagen sample but we've never been able too." Kitang said as Will absorbed all this information.

"Wow, this is a lot to take in." Will was still having trouble reconciling all of this.

"Which is understandable." Karnack eased him. "This kind of change is something humans are completely alien to. This is our history, and now it's yours. You came into contact with a Primagen meteor, correct?"

"It was about 2 years ago." Will remembered the events of that day. "I was home from college at that time. I was with friends at a party and I took some time to myself. The next thing I know, a meteor crashed down next to me. When I went to see what it was…it was a meteor of pure crystal and diamond. It glowed every couple of seconds and pulsated…like it was alive. I touched it and a drop of my blood hit it and that's when things got weird."

They all listened as everything Will was explaining matched with their recordings and history of Primagen. "Then I felt a rush of air blast past me and my head started to feel like it was on fire. The next thing I know, the meteor blasted me with some kind of beam and I felt like my body was going through a tornado. I passed out and the next thing I remember was my friends waking me up." Will recalled what happened.

"The meteor, where is it?" Maximus asked.

"Easy, Maximus." Medusa calmed him as Will still wasn't sure about these people.

"It was gone. When I woke up all I saw was the crater and the meteor was gone." Will told them as Maximus exhaled in frustration. "What?"

"Primagen, while powerful to cause metamorphosis in beings like us is also not very stable. Our records tell us that Primagen is powerful enough to affect multiple people but it's stability degenerates after the first use. Our records shows that some meteors can be used twice before degeneration occurs." Kitang told him.

"And that's probably a good thing. I'd hate to think what would happen if someone else on earth was affected like I was." Will said as Karnack was curious.

"Why?" Karnack asked.

"Because earth has enough problems to deal with so dealing with an Inhuman like me who would use his or her powers for less than benevolent means is a bad thing. It'd be one more thing for me to stop on an already piling list." Will told them.

"You're a soldier?" Gorgon asked as Will shook his head.

"Not exactly." Will hesitated about telling them who he was but given they just filled in the blanks of what he was, he felt he should return the favor. And gaining their trust might be the only way of going home. "After I became…Inhuman, I was contacted by people who wanted to know what happened. Granted, I didn't know what happened but they wanted to make sure I wasn't dangerous. They told me that they're part of a group that protects the planet and people and they wanted me to help them."

"Who are they?" Medusa asked.

"SHIELD." Will told them.

"They carry a shield? Isn't that a little archaic for what humans are capable of now?" Gorgon asked as Will shook his head.

"No, they're called SHIELD. They protect the planet and people from danger whether it's external or internal. After…" Will took a breath as he remembered his parents' death. "After an accident, I joined them. They showed me I could make a bigger difference by helping people with my powers instead of doing nothing. And I have. I've helped a lot of people and saved a lot of lives and it's something I'm not going to stop doing. It's why I reacted the way I did when you dragged me here. I thought I was being taken by some enemy group. I've already made some enemies."

Will pulled his hands apart as the magnetic binds fell to the floor. The guards raised their guns as the Royal family tensed up and were ready to react. Will undid the rope that tied him up and put it on the ground. He sat down on the bed and relaxed as they waited for him to make his next move but relaxed when they saw him sit back down. "Sorry, those were uncomfortable. And I would like to apologize for what I did before. My name is Will Detmer." Will told them.

"Apology accepted, Will." Medusa said as Black Bolt nodded.

"So, what happens now?" Will asked as Medusa looked at Black Bolt who signed.

"There are some things that we must still discuss, but for the time being you will remain here as our guest…provided you do not cause any more trouble." Medusa told him.

"Don't worry, I think I'm done with trouble for the day." Will joked. "Thank you for filling in some gaps on what happened to me."

"Your welcome. Get some rest." Medusa said as they left. Will laid back on the bed to relax so he could think about what he just learned. The Royal Family walked out of the quiet room to talk about what they learned from their new Primagen Inhuman.

"Well, for someone very skilled and potentially deadly, he seems nice enough." Gorgon said.

"He seemed rather genuine with his answers. He was most likely telling the truth." Karnack said.

"Possibly. For now, we will watch over him. Perhaps Duodon can help provide context and show us if Will is telling the truth." Medusa said as they nodded.

Line Break xxxxx

The Inhuman Royal Family had gathered in the throne room to wait. Auran then arrived and escorted Duodon into the room.

"Thank you, Auran. Duodon, can you show us the past of our new Inhuman?" Medusa asked as Duodon nodded and projected images from his eyes as everyone watched. They saw a small snippet of Will's life and everything was normal. He was a normal kid, had plenty of friends, went to school and while some of what he did was foreign to them, he seemed completely normal and happy. The images then showed the night the meteor struck down to earth and Will's transformation occurred just like he explained it to them. It crashed down onto earth, Will touched it and he went through Primagenesis, transforming into an Inhuman. They also saw that Will passed out after the transformation occurred and the Primagen crumble into dust.

"It would appear Will was telling the truth and our history is correct. The Primagen is gone." Karnack said as Black Bolt nodded while Maximus seethed in anger. That Primagen was a chance for him to go through Terrigenesis again and now it was gone, used by some worthless human.

"It's changing." Crystal said as the images changed to a few weeks after Will got his powers. He was talking to Fury and Coulson at SHIELD in New York when they were attacked. They watched the occurring fire fight as Will covered his mother to make sure she was safe. They saw Will and his mother try to get to safety and Will using his powers to protect them but he was knocked back into a building. They then witnessed his mother and father getting gunned down in front of him. "Oh my god."

Each of them witnessed the death of Will's parents and then saw him unleash the full raw strength of his powers, enough that it shook buildings and took down the mercenaries who tried to kill him. The image then changed to the funeral of his parents and his acceptance of Fury's offer to join the Avenger Initiative. The images kept changing to show Will training with Barton, Romanoff, Coulson, and Hill and then they saw him use his skills in action as he went to Paris to save his cousin and her friend from the Albanians. They saw the absolute ruthlessness and fury in Will as he took them down but also saw that he did this all out of love for his family. A man who was willing to go beyond to save the ones he cared about was an admirable quality.

"Impressive skills." Karnack said as he watched Will handle the sex traffickers and Albanians with ease and skill on par with himself.

"At least we know where he learned to fight." Gorgon said.

"Continue Duodon." Medusa said as the images changed to show Will's adventures on the island. His friends enjoying their time in Bangkok before Hoyt, Vaas and his pirates took them captive. The images then showed Will's adventures through the island to save his friends but only showed glimpses of them and just the basic things. Will taking down hordes of pirates, finding his friends and keeping them safe. Duodon's visions didn't show Will's adventure into the interior of the island and finding a second Primagen Meteor. The images then showed Will finally joining SHIELD and his recent missions and the last image of was Triton talking to him. "Thank you, Duodon. Auran, you can escort him back."

Auran nodded as she escorted Duodon out of the room so the Royal Family could talk. "What a hard life he's lived." Crystal said, having seen all the hard events he's been through.

"Indeed, but he's clearly come out stronger for it." Karnack said with some trepidation in his voice which Medusa picked up.

"You still have concerns?" Medusa asked.

"We've established that he is Inhuman, but what will his role be here in Attilan? If word gets out that he is from earth, I doubt he'll be welcomed with open arms. But if it's discovered that he was affected by Primagen, he could challenge your right for Throne, my king." Karnack said as Black Bolt thought for a moment. "We all know the importance of Primagen to our history and this is the first time ever since our first king that another Inhuman was changed by it. People will look to him as some kind of long forgotten link to our past or as a reincarnation of our first king."

"A little archaic don't you think, cousin?" Gorgon thought the whole idea seemed ridiculous.

"Maybe to us but not to the people if they learn of this." Karnack replied.

"What do you suggest we do, Karnack?" Maximus asked as Karnack took a breath.

"Perhaps keeping him locked up would be a better alternative." Karnack suggested.

"You want to lock him up like a prisoner? He hasn't done anything!" Crystal was opposed to this idea. "You saw what I saw. He helps humans for a living."

"I know, Crystal and even though he may share our blood he is still a stranger to our ways. And a very powerful one at that, probably with the potential to be one of the strongest Inhumans there is. Will he accept our ways or not? My king, he is a risk." Karnack told him.

"He hasn't done anything. We can't just lock him up. We can help him adjust to how things work on Attilan and he can join Gorgon with the Royal Guards." Crystal suggested.

"An Inhuman with his abilities could be an asset. But what of this SHIELD he works for? How long before they come for him and find the rest of us?" Gorgon asked.

"Gorgon raises a good point. This man has shown us that the humans known nothing about us yet which works to our advantage. We should go down there now and take back our rightful place on earth." Maximus said as Black Bolt signed.

"We're not going to earth, yet. The humans do not know about us and we will keep it that way." Medusa translated. "As for Will, I will think it over before coming to a decision but for now he will remain here. Time will tell what we will do with him."

They all reluctantly nodded and left the room one by one as Crystal walked up to her sister, Medusa. "Medusa, we can't lock him up. He hasn't done anything wrong." Crystal told her.

"I know, Crystal. He hasn't but Karnack does raise some good points. For now, we'll leave him be. Black Bolt will decide what to do." Medusa said as Crystal was still concerned. "He was handsome.

"What?" Crystal asked.

"The Inhuman from earth you defended. Will? He's handsome. You were right." Medusa said as Crystal chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll let you know what Black Bolt decides."

She kissed Crystal on the forehead and left with Black Bolt as Crystal went back to her room with Lockjaw. Will was still in the quiet room lying on the bed. It was still a little hard to believe, the whole Inhuman thing and Primagen but now he finally had answers to what he was and why he had powers. And he wasn't the only one, there was literally an entire city on the moon filled with Inhumans like him. Living here for who knows how long and completely unaware of what was happening on earth. Will was playing around with the Vibranium orbs, levitating them around and tossed them up to play catch.

He then juggled them as he reached into his belt and pulled out a small high-tech glass containment device which was tinted black. He pressed a button which removed the tinting of the glass to show the shrunken and compressed Primagen meteor. Tony designed the containment device to hide its unique signature and keep it safe with the nifty bonus of the container being made of Stark Industries Titanium compound and safety glass, so Will could have it with him and not risk it being destroyed. After Jarvis told him this meteor could trigger another mutation, Will kept it close because he didn't want to risk putting it somewhere and someone stealing it. With it close, he could keep an eye on it and having just learned what this thing actually is, keeping it closer was a better idea. Or maybe he could dig up a giant hole and leave it in there?

He heard the door open, so he quickly put it back in his belt and sat up when he saw a guard walk in with some food. "Thanks." Will walked up and took the tray as the guard nodded and walked out. Will sat down on the bed and took a sip of the water. He then picked up the tray and was a little confused as to what it was. It appeared to be some kind of soup. He sniffed and there wasn't an off-putting smell so he took the spoon and ate some and it was all right but not great. He ate a little more before he put the tray back down. He reached into his belt and pulled out a granola bar and happily began eating it. He heard the door open and saw a girl his age walk in. She had blonde hair with black streaks in it, and was wearing black pants and a yellow shirt with a black strap that wrapped around her neck. Accompanying her was the massive bulldog Will saw before in the courtyard.

"Hi." She greeted as she walked in and the dog walked over to Will.

"Hey." Will replied as the dog walked over to him and panted. The dog walked over and nudged Will in the side causing him to laugh so he pet him on the head which made him very happy. "Hey there, buddy. Sorry about my reaction when you brought me here."

The dog responded by licking him in the face which made Crystal laugh and Will to back up. "Easy, Lockjaw." Crystal said as Lockjaw backed off. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine. He's very friendly." Will said as he wiped his face on his sleeve.

"I'm Crystal and this is Lockjaw." Crystal said as she pats Lockjaw on the head.

"Will Detmer. It's nice to meet you." Will said as he cleaned his face with the napkin on his tray. "So, what brings you two to my little cell?"

"This isn't a cell." Crystal told him.

"Eh, I wouldn't be sure about that. One door with guards outside, a small bed and zero windows, kind of like a prison cell." Will joked as she chuckled a bit. "It's ok, I totally get it. After the little showdown before, I understand the need for this."

"You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would." Crystal said as Will shrugged.

"Well, I've learnt a long time ago that sometimes you fight and sometimes you learn to roll with the punches. Besides, I'm still stuck on the moon so playing nice is in my best interest." Will joked as she chuckled. "So, how did you get in here? I figured the guards wouldn't let anyone in."

"I just told them to let me in. No doubt they're probably on their way to tell my sister." Crystal said.

"Wow, I wonder how you pulled that off. So, what brings you to my little humble abode? Curious about the Inhuman from earth?" Will asked as she chuckled.

"A little." Crystal admitted as Will sat down on the bed and moved a little so Crystal could sit.

"Then by all means, what do you want to know?" he asked as Crystal smiled and sat down next to him as Lockjaw laid his head down next to her.

"What's it like on earth?" Crystal was exciting to know more about the planet. "All I know is from what the seers' show and tell us."

"And I'm guessing they've only shown the bad thing like wars and terrorism?" Will asked as she nodded. "Well, yeah earth can be bad and scary but it's not always like that. There's some peacefulness and beauty where you least expect it."

"Such as?" Crystal asked.

"Well…where I grew up, it was a place where a lot of people visited for vacation. Adults, parents, and children often visited and it could feel crazy. But…when things were quieter, I was able to just relax. I would head down to the beach with my friends and we'd relax by the water. When we thought we had the world…things were simpler then." Will said with such fondness for how things use to be. He took out his cellphone and brought up the camera.

"What is that?" Crystal asked as she was confused.

"It's a phone. It's allows me to talk to people who aren't here. Do you not have phones here?" Will asked.

"We have these communication bands. They let us speak to one another among other things." Crystal showed him as Will was impressed.

"High-tech, nice." Will said as he brought up some old pictures on his phone and showed her. "Here. Just swipe to look at them."

Crystal took the phone and looked it over like a baby would if they found a shiny new toy. Will chuckle as her naivety was kind of cute so he decided to help her. "Here." Will took the phone and put in in her hands as Crystal felt his hands and looked at him. He placed the phone properly in her hands and then showed her how to swipe "Just swipe."

Crystal swiped through the phone and saw the old pictures of Will and his friends. They were of them just goofing and having fun. They were either at the beach or hanging out by the small islands by the wetlands. Crystal chuckled as she saw a lot of these photos and how different things were. "I've never seen so much water in one place." Crystal said as she stopped on one picture Will took by the beach.

"Well, about 70% of the earth is covered in it from the oceans to fresh lakes and rivers. You can spend your whole life exploring them and people have." Will said.

"It's a little overwhelming." Crystal said as Will chuckled.

"It can be to people who aren't used to it. To me, that beach is like my backyard. I guess you don't have anything like this on Attilan?" Will asked.

"No. Everything is very controlled in Attilan. I always feel separate from everyone outside the Royal Family." Crystal said.

"Royal family?" Will asked. "The four who were in here before?"

"Yes, they're my family. Karnack and Gorgon are my cousins, Medusa is my sister and Black Bolt is my brother in law." Crystal said.

"Karnack? Medusa? Black Bolt? Interesting names." Will said. "Do you ever hang out with any friends?"

Crystal shook her head no. "It's just me and Lockjaw, mostly. Well even if I did have friends, my sister Medusa is so protective." Crystal said as Will was a little saddened by that.

"That must be tough." Will then had an idea. "Lockjaw can teleport, right?"

"Yes, why?" Crystal asked as she rubbed Lockjaw's head.

Will then stood up and zipped his jacket. "Because we're gonna get to know each other like regular people and its better done anyplace else except for my cell. How about a walk in the courtyard? I promise not to cause a ruckus." Will said as Crystal was unsure.

"I don't know. I'm not sure my sister would approve of you being out of this room." Crystal said.

"I promise, cross my heart and hope to die that I will not cause any more trouble. And if I do, you can have Lockjaw sit on me." Will joked as Lockjaw barked which caused Crystal to chuckle. "Come on. Let's go hang out like friends."

Crystal liked the idea of getting to know him and being friends so she eventually agreed. "Ok. Lockjaw, take us to the courtyard." Crystal said as the symbol on Lockjaw's forehead glowed. Lockjaw walked up to them and they vanished, teleporting to the courtyard outside as bystanders watched Lockjaw, the princess and a stranger appear.

"Whoa." Will said as they were now suddenly outside. "That felt weird."

"You get used to it." Crystal said as she rubbed Lockjaw on the head.

"Right." Will shook his head to readjust himself and they began walking through the courtyard with Lockjaw following them. "Well, this is nicer isn't it? So, what else did you want to know about earth?"

"What else is there?" Crystal asked as they walked through the courtyard and the bystanders were curious as to who was talking to the Princess.

"Well, a lot. I haven't been to everywhere on earth but there's so much it could take up your whole life to find it all. Everywhere you go on earth is unique. For example, Hawaii is great for awesome beaches, lush forests and a laidback spirit. Where I'm from borders New York City which makes it one of the busiest places on earth. It can be a little overwhelming like I said, and New York City is basically just a giant tourist trap…but its home. Plus, it's nice in the spring. Winters can be a bit harsh." Will told her as they walked through the courtyard.

"The Winter, what's it like?" Crystal asked.

"Cold in a lot of places. In New Jersey, it's a time when the tourists are gone and things quiet down a bit but it also brings the holidays like Christmas and New Year's." Will told her.

"Christmas?" Crystal asked.

"You guys don't have Christmas?" Will asked as he realized where they were. "Right, on the moon. It's a holiday that occurs in the winter. It's a religious holiday about the birth of Jesus Christ but it's celebrated around the world and is also a holiday that brings families together and we exchange gifts."

"A strange custom." Crystal said as Will agreed that to her, Christmas must seem bizarre.

"It is to someone who doesn't know what it is but I have some of my best memories during that time of year." Will said as they stopped near a tree as he remembered some fond memories. "Every year, my parents and I would head down to the local shelter and we'd spend the entire morning and early afternoon helping out however we could. Working in the kitchen and helping prepare dinner for those who came in or cleaning up. Every year it was a tradition. Then afterward, we'd head back home and have a nice family dinner and sit down by the TV and watch Christmas specials with some hot cocoa or coffee."

Crystal listened to Will's story and could tell he cherished those memories. "Looking back now, it's a reminder of why I do what I do now with SHIELD." Will said as Crystal was confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Going there, it reminded me of how lucky I got to have the life I did." Will told her as she was confused. "I never knew my birthparents. They gave me away when I was a baby."

"I'm so sorry." Crystal said to him as he smiled at her.

"It's fine. I was taken in by my adoptive parents when I was a baby and they raised me as their own. Growing up, they always told me that I should cherish what life gave me and never think of what I could have. He said a lot of earth's problems came from people wanting more than they should have." Will told her as she listened to him. "Going to the shelter every Christmas reminded me that there are a lot of people out there with very little. People who were down on their luck and society had written off."

"Why would they do that?" Crystal asked, not understanding the situation as Will sighed.

"That's a long and complicated answer that I'm not even sure I can answer. I guess a lot of people either are blissfully ignorant or think they can't help. But I've never stopped trying to help them and working with SHIELD lets me take that to a global scale and help more people. With what I can do…I can help a lot more people by preventing bad people from doing some very bad things. But I never forget that my job is to help everyone." Will told her as she looked at him. "Sorry, I kind of got a little deep there. Ok, enough about me. What about you, Crystal? Tell me about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" She asked.

"Anything. Anything at all. You said you have a sister?" Will asked as she nodded.

"I do, Medusa. Our parents died when we were young, so Medusa looked after me." Crystal said as she walked over and sat down on a bench.

"I'm sorry." Will sat down next to her and she smiled at him. "That couldn't have been easy."

"It was tough, but my sister and I had each other. Eventually, my sister married Black Bolt and when he became King she became Queen." Crystal said as Will nodded when he realized what she said.

"Wait, back up a second." Will said as he stood up and she looked at him. "Your sister married King Black Bolt and is Queen?"

"Yes." Crystal replied as she was wondering why he asked this again.

"So if your sister is Queen…then that would make you…a princess?" Will asked as she nodded.

"Yes, I'm princess of Attilan." Crystal told him in a nonchalant manner. "Is that a problem?"

"No. No, not at all." Will cleared his throat. "I just wasn't expecting to meet a princess in my life. Guess I can check that off my bucket list."

"What's a bucket list?" Crystal asked.

"Oh, it's a list people make of things they want to do before they die…or kick the bucket." Will told her. "And now I can say that meeting you, I've managed to knock one of them off. And to think meeting a princess would be the hardest one."

"What else do you have on your list?" Crystal asked as Will sat back down next to her.

"Well…travel around the world at one point…meet Bruce Springsteen and Elton John…go to Hawaii for vacation…meet a princess." Will said as he looked at her and she smiled. "And make a new friend with an amazing girl on the moon. I guess that's two bucket list items I can cross off thanks to you."

Crystal chuckled as Will piled on the charm. "That last one isn't true."

"I wouldn't be sure about that. I made the list when I was nine and I was weird back then." Will joked as she chuckled. "So, if Inhumans have abilities, what can you do? You know mine."

"Well…" Crystal stood up and held her hands out. She pointed her index and middle finger out and they began blowing blue. The air in front of her fingers began to get cold and frost over and soon a ball of ice was created. She raised her other hand and her other fingers glowed grey and a small tornado of air kept the ball of ice hovering in the air.

"Whoa….that's amazing." Will saw her create ice and control wind. "You have elemental control?"

"I do." Crystal said as Will raised his hand and levitated the ball of ice out of the small tornado. He then floated it above their heads and began spinning it like a top. He used his telekinesis to create small edges by the ball of ice and it began shaving it down and sprinkled down snow on them. Crystal laughed as she held her hand up and saw the snow pile up. "Amazing."

Will smiled and then decided to show her what else he could do. _**'That's not all I can do with my powers.'**_ Will telepathically told her as she heard his voice in her head.

"What is that?" Crystal asked as she looked at him. "I heard you in my head."

' _ **That's my other power set. I'm also a telepath meaning I can communicate using my mind. Kind of cool right. We're talking right now in your head. Just think of a response and I'll hear it.'**_ Will told her.

' _ **Like what?'**_ Crystal thought as Will nodded to her. ' _ **You're hearing me right now. This is amazing.'**_

' _ **Yeah, it kind of is. It's something I developed a few months ago and I've been training it ever since along with some other abilities.'**_ Will thought as he floated off the ground and levitated there in front of Crystal, showing his flight ability. He then hovered over to her and held out his hand. "Want to go for a quick flight?"

"Around Attilan?" Crystal asked as Will nodded.

"Come on. Get a different view of the city from the air. It'll be fun. As the wise street rat Aladdin would say…do you trust me?" Will asked as he held his hand out to her. Crystal hesitated for a bit before she nodded.

"All right." Crystal said as she took his hand and Will used his powers to lift her in the air. She was floating there right next to him as she waved her hands around, thinking she was going to fall but she was fine. "Whoa…this is amazing."

"Yeah, my favorite part. Don't worry, you're in good hands with Air Detmer. Let's go!" Will shouted as they flew into the air.

"We'll be right back, Lockjaw!" Crystal shouted as Lockjaw and nearby bystanders watched as Princess Crystal and the mystery stranger flew up into the sky. Will took him and Crystal up into the air as they flew above the courtyard and then flew them over the courtyard and north. "This is incredible!"

"Amazing, I know!" Will shouted as they flew through the courtyard and above the city. Will did a few flips and spins in the air as Crystal laughed and tried to turn but since Will was controlling the flight, she couldn't do anything. Will then spun her around a few times, causing her to shout in fright.

"Don't do that!" Crystal shouted as Will laughed and flew them up to the top of the dome where they could see the entire city. "This is amazing. I've never seen Attilan from this view. There's so much of the city that I've never seen before."

"Being this high can make you change how you see things." Will told her as she smiled. Will looked and saw they had started to get some attention, so he decided to take them back to the ground. "We better get back down before your sister sends those guards after me."

Will flew them back to the ground down by Lockjaw and once they touched down, Lockjaw immediately jumped on them and barked in excitement. Crystal laughed as she pet and tried to calm down Lockjaw when Will heard a lot of footsteps coming and he saw the guards coming their way.

"Princess Crystal, are you all right?!" The head guard asked as Crystal nodded and saw them aim their guns at Will.

"Stand down! He's out here with me!" Crystal ordered as the guards lowered their guns.

"Guess it pays off to be princess, doesn't it?" Will asked as she chuckled. Her communication band then went off and she saw it was her sister.

"Yes, Medusa?" Crystal asked.

" _Crystal, the guards told me that they've seen you out in the city with the Inhuman from Earth?"_ Medusa spoke over the band.

"I have a name." Will whispered to Crystal who motioned him to keep quiet.

"Yes, Medusa. I'm with him now. We've just been talking." Crystal told her.

" _Please bring him to the throne room."_ Medusa ordered as she ended the call.

"What do you think she wants?" Will asked as Crystal shrugged.

"Either to talk or hurt you." Crystal said as Will nodded. "Lockjaw, take us to the throne room."

The symbol on Lockjaw's head glowed and he teleported them to the throne room. There waiting was Karnack, Gorgon, Medusa and King Black Bolt. Will looked and saw that Medusa wasn't happy her sister was with him.

"Before you attack me, I should say that I've been a perfect gentlemen and Crystal and I have just been talking." Will told them as Crystal looked at him funny. "Trying to calm them down." Crystal nodded as Will whispered to her.

"He's right. I went to go talk to him and that's it. We've just been talking." Crystal told them.

"For over two hours?" Karnack asked.

"It's been two hours? Wow, guess time does fly by." Will said as they didn't seem amused. "I'm going back into the cell, aren't I?"

"No, you're not." Medusa said as Will and Crystal were confused. "Your arrival and revelation of your Inhuman nature was a shock to us and in the time you spent with Crystal, we've been deliberating the best course of action. And King Black Bolt has come to a decision that you may join the rest of us here in Attilan."

"You mean I can stay here with the rest of you?" Will asked as Medusa nodded.

"That's great." Crystal was excited that they decided Will was allowed to stay and wouldn't be a prisoner.

"There are still some logistics to work out, but you may remain here in Attilan. We'll find you appropriate accommodations and there will BE a small adjustment period, but you will find your role among us." Medusa told him as Will liked the idea of being with people like him but knew in his heart he couldn't stay.

"Thank you for the offer, King Black Bolt and Queen Medusa." Will said as they nodded. "But as much as I would love to accept it…I can't."

They all looked at him and wondered why he couldn't accept the offer. "Will, what are you doing? You can stay here in Attilan with us…with me." Crystal told him as Will looked at her with a somber expression on his face.

"And I'd love to stay longer here to explore more of Attilan and learn more of our history…but this isn't my home." Will told her. "Crystal, I'm sorry. I wish I could stay but I can't."

"Yes, you can. Black Bolt and my sister said you can. You'll be safer here in Attilan then on Earth. When the humans find out what you really are, they'll turn against you." Crystal told him.

"Once they get to know me, it won't matter what I really am. Some of them already know and it doesn't change how they look at me. But that's not why I can't stay. I'm needed on earth, it's my home." Will told her. "Before, when we looked out over the city…everything was peaceful. Attilan seemed like the perfect home."

"It is." Crystal told him.

"But earth isn't perfect and it's my home. I may be Inhuman by blood…" Will said as he looked at them all. "but I'm human by instinct. And one thing that I learned as a human is never give up and run from my problems. Earth still has a lot of them and I have to go back and help."

"Why?" Medusa asked as Will looked at her.

"Because if I don't, no one will. There are 7 billion people on earth. Some of them are bad, but more of them are good and I'm not going to let anyone die because I refused to act." Will said as he looked at Crystal. "Remember when I told you that I help a lot of people by stopping bad guys?"

Crystal nodded. "I've just gotten started with that. I speak for the dead, once the wicked have robbed them of their souls. This is my fight…and I can't walk away. I'm sorry, Crystal. I hope you understand that." Will said as he could tell Crystal was hurt by his decision but understood. He then looked at the others. "I'm sorry about all this but I can't stay here. My place is on earth. But I make you all this promise…the Inhumans and the Royal Family have an ally on earth. One who will help them however he can…and keep their secret."

Black Bolt listened to what Will had to say and began hand-signing as Medusa translated. "I understand your reasoning for why you can't stay. Should you change your mind, you will still have a place amongst your kind. Please understand that the secret of our kind must be kept." Medusa told him as Will nodded.

"I swear on my life that the secret of the Inhumans of Attilan will not leave my mouth." Will told them. "Your are my people now as well. Family…and I protect my family. Not even SHIELD will know of you."

"Thank you. When you're ready, we'll have Lockjaw take you back to Earth." Medusa said as Will nodded. He looked at Crystal who was sad that he was leaving.

"Thank you, Queen Medusa. I'll be ready to leave in an hour." Will told her as she nodded, and Will looked at Crystal and Lockjaw. "Lockjaw, can you take us back outside?"

Lockjaw's symbol glowed as he teleported Will and Crystal back to the courtyard. Will looked at Crystal who managed a smile at him as Will smiled back. "Your sister is probably gonna kill me but why don't we spend my last hour together." Will said as Crystal nodded. "Come on."

The two walked throughout the rest of the city and spent some more time together, talking and getting to know each other more as this might be the last time they would see each other. They spoke more as Will told her more about his life and earth and Crystal told him more about herself and the history of the Inhumans. He saw glimpses of the Kree language which consisted of weird lines and circles and she told him how the Terrigen Crystals were originally in special containers called Diviners. The Diviners were a safeguard the Kree designed when they were doing the experiments all those years ago. The Diviner housed the Terrigen Crystals and protected them against those of non-Inhuman blood. The Diviner would lead the Inhuman to a Kree temple where the Diviner would be removed, and the Inhuman transformation would begin. When the Inhumans moved to the moon, they had removed the Diviners and kept the Crystals.

While Will learned more about who he was as an Inhuman he also learned more of the city and the people as well as Crystal. She was nice, a little bit of a princess attitude but Will was able to get past that fairly easy. She was a little guarded but got a lot more open as the two got to know each other. When Will found out she was a princess, he half expected the generic princess stereotype of spoiled, but Crystal wasn't that at all. Shelter, definitely and a little naïve but not spoiled. There was an innate kindness and compassion to her and Will felt that the Inhumans were in good hands with her as their princess.

She and Will got to know each other more and both could feel a bond forming. Unfortunately, Will was heading back to earth as he and the Royal Family were in the Seer's view room. They had all gathered as Gorgon handed back Will's pistol.

"That's everything you came with." Gorgon told him as Will checked his pistol. He ejected the clip, pulled the slide to check for a bullet before he inserted the clip back in, flipped the safety on and spun it around his finger and holstered it. "I figured that humans would advance beyond simpler weapons."

"Sometimes simplicity is the best method. Besides, it's a lot more useful than you'd think." Will said as he fixed the holster strap and zipped up his jacket.

"Lockjaw will take you back to the location Triton found you." Medusa told him as Will nodded.

"I know that our initial meeting didn't go as you expected but thank you for bringing me here. For two years, I've been wondering how all this happened to me and why and now I finally know. Thank you." Will said as he held out his hand and Medusa shook it. Black Bolt then stepped forward and to their surprise held out his hand. Will shook his hand and then Black Bolt hand-signed.

"We wish you safety on Earth. If you truly feel like you belong there, we hope you continue your work and help people." Medusa said as Will nodded.

"Always." Will said as he then walked over to Lockjaw and Crystal and Will saw she was sad he was leaving. "I'm sorry, Crystal."

"Me too, Will. But I know why you can't stay." Crystal said as she managed to crack a smile. "I hope earth sees you as the good person they deserve and the SHIELD that guards them."

"One can only hope. But I'm not sure SHIELD will like it if I call myself SHIELD as well." Will joked as she chuckled.

"Maybe you could come up with a different name like it. If you are going to protect humanity as an Inhuman, you should use an Inhuman name." Crystal suggested as Will gave it some thought.

"I'll take it into consideration and come up with something." Will said as he reached into his pocket and took out his phone. "Here, I want you to have this."

"Your phone?" Crystal asked as he handed it to her. "But don't you need this?"

"No. It's fine. I took the sim card out so now it's just a…" Will noticed that Crystal didn't understand any of that. "I uh…I mean I want you to have it. There's some music and videos I think you'll find entertaining. Think of it as a reminder of the handsome and charming Inhuman from earth."

Crystal chuckled as she clicked a few buttons and brought up the camera reel to see a picture the two took when Will showed her the camera. It was a selfie of the two with Lockjaw in the background. They were close together as Crystal hugged his side and Will had his arm around her. "Thank you." Crystal smiled as Will smiled back.

Will then leaned forward and kissed her cheek, causing her to blush. He pulled back with a smirk on his face. "Is your sister glaring at me?" He asked as Crystal looked behind him and saw Medusa wasn't happy. Crystal nodded as Will chuckled. "Well, I wanted to cross _kiss a princess_ of my bucket list as well. If you ever manage to make your way to earth, come find me."

Will kissed her forehead and before Medusa could kill him, he walked up to Lockjaw. "Ok, Lockjaw. Back to earth." Will told him as Lockjaw's symbol glowed and he teleported Will away before Medusa could sent out her hair to kill him.

Crystal sighed as she saw Lockjaw take him back to earth, unsure if she'd ever see him again. Medusa was sad he left before she could kill him while the others wondered what would happen to earth now that a Primagen Inhuman was there while Gorgon had one lingering question in his mind.

"What's a bucket list?" He asked as the others looked at him.

Lockjaw had teleported Will into his backyard as Will looked and saw the sun just rising over the horizon. When he left, the sun was up meaning he had been gone for a while. Will then rubbed Lockjaw on the head as he was enjoying it. "Take care, Lockjaw." Will said as Lockjaw barked and teleported back.

Will walked back into his home and took off his jacket and unstrapped his pistol and belt. He walked over and got a bottle of water from the fridge and drank it all in one go. He finished his water and grabbed some food out of the fridge to make a snack when he stopped after seeing a photo stuck on the fridge. It was of him, Riley, Keith, and Daisy on a middle school field trip to the museum of Natural History in New York. It was of the four of them in front of an old painting of the Greek God Zeus summoning a lightning bolt and holding a shield as he fought against the Titans. It was the Greek mythology exhibit the museum did years ago.

"An Inhuman name that shows I'm here to protect them." Will said to himself as he realized he could use it as his SHIELD moniker or codename.

Will went to his computer and googled the shield of Zeus and it was called the _Aegis._ Granted, it's nature is uncertain kind of like him and it was interpreted as an animal skin or shield.

"Aegis…that could work." Will said to himself.

Line Break xxxxx

 **Triskelion, Washington DC: April 2012**

Will was walking through the halls of the Triskelion on his way to a mission briefing Director Hill contacted him for. Will was walking through the halls in his casual clothes with his pistol strapped to his leg. Will decided not to wear his uniform since the meeting was only with Deputy Director Hill. Will walked through the halls with his ID badge pinned to his jacket as the other agents paid him no mind as he walked by. To them, he was just another agent who was underdressed. Will had come far in the three months since his little Inhuman adventure and was now a level 5 agent. Usually moving up through the ranks would take years but Will's excellent record in missions both as the primary and backup agent pushed him up faster. He was quickly becoming a legend within SHIELD like Barton and Romanoff, although the rest of SHIELD didn't know it was him but his moniker, _Aegis._

Like Barton and Romanoff who took the codenames Hawkeye and Black Widow, Will was known as Aegis. When he wore his uniform and mask, that's was he was called, and it was better than Agent Omega that's for sure. Will walked through the hall and entered the briefing room to see Director Hill next to a large monitor.

"Agent Detmer, thank you for coming." Director Hill said as Will nodded.

"Director Hill. From the immediate quinjet pickup, this seems to be important." Will said as he took a seat.

"It is." Director Hill replied as she handed him a file and the monitor brought up satellite images of some kind of pyramid. "Approximately 5 days ago, one of our satellites detected an abnormal heat bloom in Antarctica. The heat bloom came from beneath the earth and it outlined this."

The image on the monitor changed to show the outline of some kind of weird formation. "The red lines indicate solid walls and through thermal mapping, we've managed to generate a three-dimensional image of the structure." The image then turned into a 3-D image of a pyramid or temple and a massive one at that building around a central core at the bottom.

"A pyramid in Antarctica? And just to think when this job wouldn't hold any surprises." Will commented as he looked over the data.

"The structure is massive, and it contains hundreds of rooms all built around a central core. We've consulted with some experts and what they can say is that it appears to be a pyramid, but they can't say for sure who built it. The structure shares similarities and features with that of Aztec temples, Cambodian Angkor Wat and the great pyramids of Egypt. We might be looking at the first pyramid ever built by the planet's first civilization." Hill told him.

"And this thing just happens to show up on a heat bloom for our satellites to detect? That's convenient. What caused the heat bloom?" Will asked.

"We're not sure but the structure is located over on Boevetoya Island and is 2,000ft below the ice." Hill said.

"Nothing's ever easy, isn't it? This all smells funny, doesn't it?" Will asked.

"It does but Director Fury want's this structure analyzed and excavated. SHIELD has already assembled a team of expert diggers, archeologists, historians, linguists and a guide. Their information is in the packet but Director Fury wants you to lead the SHIELD security presence there." Hill told him as Will looked over the files of the people assembled.

"I'm interested but why me? There are higher up agents who have more experience than I do." Will stated.

"True but we have no idea what the team will be running into when they go to excavate the area. Director Fury needs an operative who can think fast and who will be ready for whatever surprises will be waiting for the team there. You're one of his best." Hill said.

"In other words, if all hell breaks loose Fury wants his telekinetic super soldier there to stop it." Will put it bluntly as Hill sighed. Despite his rising through the ranks at SHIELD and becoming an excellent agent, he still kept his regular attitude which was a nice thing. It showed Fury and Hill that despite everything he's been through all the bad and horrible, he's still Will Detmer…and it was a refreshing change of pace as well. "I'm in."

"Excellent. Outfit and report to the Quinjet for extraction." Hill said as Will got up and left to grab his gear and head to Antarctica.

 **Antarctica: April 2012**

Will was in a quinjet transport to a SHIELD Icebreaker ship where the team would journey until they got within 100 miles of Boevetoya Island where they would then take snowplows to the coordinates. Will was in the passenger bay of the quinjet dressed in his combat gear which included his jacket and forearm gauntlets. He adjusted his grey cold weather parka as he activated his gauntlet computer.

"Edi, you there?" Will asked as a digital woman's head appeared on the touchpad screen.

" _Always."_ Edi replied as a familiar woman's voice replied. Edi was Will's personal Natural Language Artificial Intelligence program he created from the neuromorphic matrix Tony gave him. Tony have Jarvis, Will had EDI or _Enhanced Defensive Intelligence_ for short. Like with Jarvis, Edi often acted like a real person and at times you would forget that she was a program but that just meant Will did a good job in creating her. When Will created her, he was inspired by Battlestar Galactica because he used to watch it all the time with his dad. So, he took some audio from the show and now EDI sounded like Number Six, or more accurately, her actress Tricia Helfer. It was great and she was excellent in the field although it was weird when she and Jarvis spoke to one another because it sounded like they were flirting when they interacted. **(4)**

"Be sure to monitor all SHIELD channels while we're up here and keep the line to the Triskelion open. And keep the 3-D image of the pyramid on standby." Will said.

" _Of courses, Will. And should I keep watch for any abnormal satellite feeds over the area as well?"_ Edi asked.

"Good idea. I'm still iffy about this whole heat bloom in the middle of Antarctica that outlined an ancient pyramid that's never been documented before. My gut tells me something else is a play here." Will said.

" _And your gut is rarely wrong."_ Edi said as Will looked down at the duffel bag by his feet carrying his guns.

"Then it's a good thing I'm coming prepared." Will said as the pilot told him they were nearing approach to the ship. The pilot got clearance and landed in the landing bay of the ship as Will grabbed his bag and walked out of the ship where he met with the ship's captain and the SHIELD Team he would be commanding which included a familiar face.

"Agent Detmer, welcome to Antarctica." The ship's captain greeted as Will walked onto the ship and nodded as he looked at his SHIELD Team which consisted of 16 trained agents and his second in command for the mission, Agent Barbara 'Bobbi' Morse, or call sign _Mockingbird_. She was a Level Five Agent as well and someone Will's worked with before when he's been teamed up with Barton a few times. She trained under Barton as well and she was a skilled fighter, especially with her twin Escrima Fighting Sticks. Next to her was the lead SHIELD scientist for the expedition, Dr. Charles Weyland. One of SHIELD's most decorated scientists and despite his age he was still willing to go out into the field rather than take a job back at the Triskelion.

"Captain, Agent Morse, Agent Weyland." Will nodded as Bobbi nodded back. "Team, gear up and then gather at the snowplow bay for final brief and deployment."

"Yes sir." His SHIELD team replied as they left to get geared up.

"Agent Detmer, glad to have you here. If your reputation is anything to go by, I'm glad to have you here with us." Dr. Weyland said as Will shook his hand.

"The pleasures mind, Dr. Weyland." Will replied.

"We're onto something big, I can feel it." He said as he left to get ready.

"You're moving up in the world, Will. Just a few weeks ago you were a level 4 agent." Bobbi said as Will smiled.

"I'm just that good." He said as she hugged him and he hugged back. "Good to see you, you look good."

"Thanks. You do too. You do something different with your hair?" She asked as Will scratched his head.

"As if I'd ever cut this beautiful mane. How'd everything go with Hunter?" Will asked.

"About as you'd expect. Some colorful words but what's done is done." Bobbi said.

"Sorry about that." Will said to her.

"Thanks, Will but this kind of life makes it difficult to have a normal life outside of work." Bobbi said.

"Eh, I wouldn't be so sure about that." Will said.

"Oh really, and have you had any success in that part?" Bobbi asked as Will chuckled.

"Been a little busy for that but I can guarantee you that when I do find the time for a relationship, I'll prove you wrong." Will walked over to his room on the ship and dropped off the stuff he didn't need. He put everything he did need in the duffel bag carrying his weapon and grabbed it. He was outfitted in his cold weather gear and walked out into the snowplow bay where Bobbie and the SHIELD team were all outfitted in black tactical cold weather and carrying cases and bags of their SHIELD Gear for excavating the pyramid, surveying the area and weapons in case something went bad. He walked into the snowplow bay to see SHIELD personnel getting the snowplows ready to move out into the snow while the band of consultants coming on the trip were all outfitted and ready to go.

"Everyone, please listen up!" Will shouted everyone began to gather around. "Please gather around! Thank you. I just want to take the moment to thank you all for your courage in coming on this expedition. I just want to remind all of you that every step of this journey is voluntary. Despite what you've heard from other agents, I want everyone to know that every step of this expedition is voluntary. If you feel that at any point you can't continue or must leave, then you're free to go. This expedition has its dangers and I don't want anyone to feel that they are forced into this. Is that understood?"

Everyone nodded as Will smiled. "Good, now before I finish up, I think a word from our guide and survival expert Alexa Woods is in order." Will said as Alexa nodded and stepped forward.

"Thank you, Agent Detmer. It is my job to guide all of you and keep you alive on this expedition, and I need your help to do that. Since I don't have the time to properly train you, I'm laying down three rules. One, no one goes anywhere alone, ever. Two, everyone must maintain constant communication. Three, unexpected things are gonna happen. When they do, no one tries to be a hero." She told them.

"That's our job." Will stepped forward as Alexa stepped back. "When Ms. Woods isn't in charge, I am. Despite the potential benefits of this expedition, my foremost priority is your safety. So long as no one does anything stupid, that shouldn't be an issue. Now, make sure your gear is ready, stay warm and above all else…listen to us. All right, let's move out!"

Will put his bag of gear into the snow plow but took out his pistol and holstered it around his leg like he normally does. He took out the clip and made sure his pistol was ready before putting the clip back in and holstering it. "Seven seasons on the ice and I've never seen a gun save someone's life." Alexa said to Will.

"Hopefully I don't plan to use it…and this." Will said as he pat his large duffel bag.

"Then why bring it?" She looked and saw all the other agents loading up gear on their snowplows. "You look like you have your men ready for a fight."

"Kind of the whole point. I don't plan to use it, but best be prepared for anything." He said as she nodded. "I heard you were thinking of leaving, glad you decided to stick around. I feel better having you here."

"We shouldn't be going at all. This kind of trip isn't something we go on without proper training." Alexa told him.

"I couldn't agree more but I don't get to make the rules, just follow orders. So, the next best thing is making sure no one dies." He said as she nodded. "Just do your job the best way you can, and I'll do mine."

"Fair enough." She said as Will motioned everyone to move out.

They all got into their snow plows and made their way across 60 miles of frozen tundra to the spot the pyramid was directly under. Bobbi was driving the snow plow as Will was in the passenger seat checking over some supplies when his wrist computer beeped. "Edi, what is it?" Will asked.

" _SHIELD satellites detected another heat bloom over Antarctic space in the same area the pyramid is located."_ Edi told him.

"Another heat bloom from the pyramid?" He asked.

" _No. Based on scans, the source of the heat bloom seems to be coming from somewhere close to the pyramid. I'm working on ascertaining the source of the heat bloom."_ Edi replied.

"Good, keep me informed." Will said as he ended the transmission. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"What's wrong?" Bobbi asked.

"Remember that mission in Cairo where we teamed up with the GID for that terrorism threat?" Will asked as Bobbi nodded.

"Yeah, the one where you got that weird feeling because something was off, and it was because of a rogue agent in the GID led us into an ambush." Bobbi said.

"I'm getting the same feeling right now. I have a feeling we're running into a trap." Will told her.

Another 20 minutes passed, and they stopped at the coordinates for the pyramid. Will got out first and looked out over the abandoned whaling station that was directly above the Pyramid. Bobbie and the SHIELD Team joined him followed by everyone else on the expedition. Alexa fired a flare gun round over the area and everyone saw the old abandoned whaling station. "It's an abandoned whaling station. According to your satellite images, the pyramid is located directly beneath it." Alexa said.

"Keep the trucks running and everyone stay here." Will said as he put his duffel bag on his back. "I'm gonna go scout the area."

"What's wrong?" Dr. Weyland asked.

"Our satellite picked up another heat bloom. Once is a barely a freak accident of nature…twice, is something else. Everyone stay here, Bobbi you're in charge until I get back. If you here shouting, gun shots or explosions, head back to the ship. And don't wait for me." Will walked forward and slid down the snow and ice until he reached the bottom. He pulled out his pistol and held it in front of him as he slowly walked into the abandoned station. "Mask on."

His mask began to unfold from his collar and formed on his face as his HUD came up and Edi began to scan the area. **"Edi, what am I looking at?"** Will asked, his voice now changed due to the mask.

" _I'm not picking up any heat signatures in the area other than yours and the expedition team on the ridge."_ Edi said as Will kept his pistol out, he still had a bad feeling about this. He saw a group of penguins walk by without a care in the world which was a little of a relief because if something bad was going on, animals would be the first to feel it. _"I did manage to isolate the satellite feed and discover the heat bloom."_

" **Bring it up."** Will said as Edi brought up a stilled satellite image and saw what looked out a large tunnel carved out of the ice from the whaling station straight to the pyramid. He walked through the station and tripled checked the area and there were zero heat signatures in the area. He had his HUD run through every single sensor setting and mode detection he could have Edi run just to be safe and nothing. No one had been through here in years. According to legend, the entire station was abandoned in 1912 and no one from here was ever seen from again. A whole station of people disappeared over night…now, whether that's a myth or actual fact is still up for debate but something about this place makes his skin crawl. He moved through the area when he saw some destroyed wooden beams and saw that based on the lack of snow coverage, they were destroyed recently so he investigated and saw an old building was destroyed by something that made a massive whole. **"What the hell? Edi what caused the heat bloom?"**

" _I'm unable to identify the source but it wasn't caused by the pyramid."_ Edi said as he looked and saw the hole was a perfect circle cut through the ice at a 30-degree angle.

" **Bobbi."** Will contacted her over the comms.

" _I hear you."_ She replied.

" **The area's clear but we've got a situation. Group up on me."** He said as Bobbi moved everyone into the whaling station. They moved the snow plows into the station and they began setting up equipment as people joined up with Will at the hole and they saw what he saw. He had deactivated his mask as they joined him.

Will popped open a flare and sent it down the hole as it seemed to go straight down. Ruster Quinn, the head of the drilling team came over to examine the hole. "This is incredible. It is drilled at a perfect 30-degree angle." He said.

"How far does it go down?" Alexa asked.

"All the way to the pyramid." Dr. Weyland brought up the satellite images on a tablet so they could see, and the hole went straight to the pyramid. "There is it, clear as day. And this is roughly 16 hours ago." Dr. Weyland changed the image to 16 hours ago and the hole wasn't there. "Nothing."

"How was it done?" Dr. Graeme Miller, Scottish chemical engineer asked.

"Thermal equipment of some kind." Quinn said.

"Anything like ours?" Will asked as Quinn looked behind and saw part of building was blasted apart in a semi-circle indicating that whatever made the hole had blasted clean through the building as well.

"No, much more advanced and incredibly powerful. I've never seen anything like it." Quinn said, looking at the destroyed part of the building. "I'm the best digger in the entire world and we have the best technology, so I can tell you that I know of no team in the world that could drill to that depth in 16 hours."

"Clearly someone did." Bobbi said.

"Well, the only way we're gonna know for sure is to get down there and find out." Weyland said.

"I don't know. Something about this doesn't seem right." Alexa said.

"I agree. Someone made this, and I have a feeling it wasn't for altruistic reasons." Will added.

"We have orders to head down there, Agent Detmer. HQ wants us to examine the pyramid and that's what we're going to do." Weyland told her as Will sighed. He couldn't disobey orders and while he was the head agent for security and threat assessment, if Dr. Weyland wanted to continue, he couldn't argue no.

"All right. Set up equipment. I'll head down there first and check out the area. If another team did do this, we might be running into a trap. Get down as fast as humanely possible." Will said as Quinn nodded. He then jumped down the hole and slid down the 2,000 ft. path to the temple.

Will slid down the path on his boots as the cold wind rushed past his face. He activated his mask again and put it in Night Vision mode as he jumped when he reached the bottom and landed in the snow. He held his pistol forward and took out a flash light as he looked around and saw no sign of anyone having been here in years. No depressions in the snow or tracks other than his. No one had step foot in this place at all and Edi would have been able to detect if the snow had been recovered or moved but it was all perfectly level and the ice levels in the chasm indicated no atmospheric temperature change which meant no one had been here.

" **Edi, have your scans picked up anything?"** He asked.

" _I've scanned the area two thousand, five hundred and seventeen times and I haven't detected any disturbance, trace, or marking that indicates another group of people have been through this area."_ Edi told him as his mask went through one last echo-location scan of the area and it didn't detect any disturbances at all.

" **That's impossible. That tunnel didn't just show up. Someone had to have made it and left a trail for us to follow. Scan again."** Will said.

" _Will, I've scanned the surrounding area now four thousand, seven hundred and twenty-eight times. Scanning anymore times would be considered the very definition of insanity."_ Edi said.

" **Please don't remind me of Vaas, Edi."** Will said.

" _My apologies, Will. But my scanners are unable to pick up anything in the area and seeing as how you designed them with the help of Mr. Stark, it's safe to assume that there is nothing here besides you, your team and the pyramid."_ Edi said.

" **Then what the hell made that hole?"** Will asked.

" _I'm not able to detect any other signatures in this area. I cannot answer that question_." Edi said.

" **Great. Edi, send all this information to HQ and have the crew on the ship to be on standby."** Will said.

" _Of course."_ Edi replied as Will took out two flare pellets and turned them on, creating some light in the dark icy cavern. He placed them on the ground to light the place up as he moved through the cavern and came to an opening to a larger cavern and he saw the pyramid.

" **Whoa…ok, that's impressive."** Will said to himself as he took out a flare pellet and threw it high into the air. With his super soldier strength, it flew up to 400 feet in the air and lit up the cavern to show a large empty ice cavern and the pyramid sitting there in the ice for who knows how long.

He heard some movement and turned his head to see some flashlights coming from the tunnel so he walked over and saw Bobbi and the others finally make it down with some equipment. **"All right, get these lights set up and get the equipment up and running. I was a relay station for communication with HQ."** Will ordered as he deactivated his mask.

"Yes sir." His men replied as they got to work.

"Anything down here?" Bobbi asked.

"Nothing. Not even a track or temperature fluctuation. No one's been here in years." Will said as Doctor Weyland came over.

"It doesn't make any sense. No foot prints or sign of another team." He said as the team got the lights set up.

"Well, that tunnel didn't dig itself." Alexa said as she loaded her flare gun and they walked over to the larger cavern. She fired a round into the air and exploded in a bright flash of light that illuminated the dark cavern and everyone got a glimpse of the pyramid. "Congratulations, Agent Weyland. Looks like you'll be leaving your mark after all."

Dr. Weyland smiled as he coughed a bit. "All right, let's go." Will said as they grabbed some gear and made their way up the steps of the pyramid to the main entrance. The group had high-powered flashlights and lanterns out to illuminate the entrance to the pyramid that took literally thousands of steps to get up to. They had to stop every now and then because it was a lot of steps, even for the agents. Lucky for Will his super soldier physiology made it a piece of cake for him.

Once they reached the top of the stairs they walked in through the main entrance and saw that despite the pyramid being here for what would be assumed as thousands of years, it looked to be in perfect shape. They looked around and some of the scientists began taking photos and recording everything they saw for research and to send back to HQ. Will looked and noticed the hieroglyphics shared similarities to that in the pyramids in Egypt, Mexico, and Cambodia. As they were walking, one of the agents stepped on a tile that depressed into the ground and activated some kind of sequence. Will's hearing picked up the sound of something moving but when he turned around nothing was out of the ordinary and the tile had moved back into place.

They moved through the area as some of the archaeologists and linguists moved over to a part of a wall to look at some of the hieroglyphics to try and interpret them. "Thomas." Professor Sebastian De Rosa called over his assistant Thomas.

"What is it?" Thomas asked as Sebastian moved some cob webs out of the way to get a better look at the hieroglyphics. "I recognize the Egyptian."

"The second symbol is Aztec, Pre-conquest era. The third is Cambodian." Sebastian said.

"Then you were right." Dr. Weyland said. "The pyramid contains all three cultures."

"That's what it looks like." Sebastian said.

" _You may choose to enter."_ Thomas deciphered part of the writing. "Those who choose may enter."

"Who taught you to translate?" Sebastian asked.

"Funny, kind of looked like you." Thomas replied as Alexa chuckled.

"Well, it's not choose, It's chosen. Only the chosen ones may enter." Sebastian said.

"That's not foreboding at all." Will said as everyone looked at him. Will checked his computer and the compass showed them they were moving east. "All right, let's keep moving. Everyone on high alert. Something doesn't seem right."

Line Break xxxxx

Back up at the Whaling station, the digging crew and the four agents Will had stay behind as security had finished setting up the basics of base camp and were hunkering down because a storm had come in with raging wind and snow. One of the SHIELD agents was outside doing a patrol when he heard a loud noise so he pulled out his pistol and turned on the laser sight. He looked around but with the wind and snow he couldn't really see anything. He heard another loud bang and it was closer.

"MR. QUINN IS THAT YOU OUT THERE?!" He shouted as he heard some movement and turned to see a shimmer of a figure. "ARGHH!"

Ruster Quinn had heard the shout of pain as he was securing some equipment and the SHIED Agents and two members of the digging team were in one of the old Whaling houses when they heard the shout. All of the sudden the door to the house slid open and the agents pulled out their guns and aimed at the door way as their laser sights refracted off some kind of figure that was using active camouflage…and that's when the massacre began.

One of the agents was thrown through a wall and was killed by the impact while another was stabbed through the stomach with some kind of blade and hoisted up into the air. His limp body was tossed away as the last agent fired his assault rifle and shot the entire cabin with bullets but hit nothing. He was then hit with something and sent flying through the air until he was stuck to a wall. He grabbed his stomach and saw a large spear de-cloak before he died.

"Mikkel!" Quinn called out for his friend as he walked into the cabin and saw the three agents and two members of his drill team all dead and being strung up by their feet like they were freshly killed deer. Quinn looked in horror at this when he heard an animalistic growl and saw a blood coated shimmer. He ran out of the cabin and closed the door when a spear shot through and pricked his arm. He grabbed his arm and ran away as fast as he could, stumbling across the snow. He tripped on his feet as he crawled up an elevated platform and broke into a sprint but smacked into something and fell down. "AHH!"

Quinn shouted in terror as he smacked into the dead body of one of his digging team. He looked and saw the other four members of his drilling team were dead and hung upside by their feet like they were animals. He crawled away as fast as he could when he saw a pistol on the ground so he grabbed it. He looked around and saw a shimmering figure on a rooftop so he fired three bullets at it. The first two bullets hit the building but the third hit the figure in the shoulder as it began to crackle with electricity. The active camouflage disappeared to reveal the figure was some kind of alien. It was large, at about 8 feet tall and was big, built like a linebacker or offensive tackle. It had several weapons ranging from spears to knives on its body along with metal armor on its shoulders, chest, arms, and legs. It had a distinct mask on its face but the most worrisome thing was the fact that all over its body were ceremonial bones and skulls of things it had hunted and some of them were human skulls. This was the species known as the _Yautja_ …or as it was colloquially known as the Predator.

The Predator reached up and pulled out the bullet that hit its shoulder armor and if anything, it was just annoyed. **[ROAR!]** The Predator roared and jumped down right in front of Quinn. Quinn raised his hand and tried to punch the Predator but it grabbed Quinn's hand and twisted it, forcing him to drop the gun. He then backhanded Quinn and he was sent flying through a wooden table. The Predator stalked up to Quinn and was hit in the arm with a piece of wood but it did nothing. The Predator backhanded Quinn again and sent him flying through the air and into the tunnel, which sent him sliding straight to the pyramid. Quinn pulled out his ice axe and slammed it into the ground to try and slow and stop his descent. He slammed his axe into the ice but the friction forced his axe out of his hand and he was sent sliding to the pyramid.

The Predator who attacked Quinn walked over to the tunnel and was soon joined by two other Predators who de-cloaked. They had their own unique weapons and trophies on their body but they were all there for a reason. The lead Predator held up his gauntlet and pressed a few buttons and a holographic image of the pyramid came up and then zoomed in to one section of the pyramid that picked up several heat signatures. It's where Will and his team were.

Will and his team had moved through the pyramid and recording more data when they came to a door that led to a large room with 12 large slabs that looked like beds with a skeleton on each slab. They walked into the room as Will took out some glow sticks, cracked them and shook them a bit before placing them around the room to get some extra light.

The scientists and archaeologists looked around and the place seemed like a gold mine for discovery. Will and his SHIELD team began moving around to secure the area and once they found it was secure, the scientists and archaeologists got to work in examining the area and any potential artifacts.

"What is all this?" Alexa asked.

"This is the sacrificial chamber." Sebastian said as he walked over to the one of the stone slabs to inspect the skeleton.

"Just like the Aztecs and the Egyptians. Whoever built this pyramid believed in ritual sacrifice. This is where the chosen ones were offered to the gods." Thomas said as Will walked over to a wall and saw dozens of human skulls with their spinal cords still attached like some kind of mural.

"It's a good thing that fell out of favor because now that thinking would make people think you're crazy and get you killed." Will said.

"Those that were chosen would lie here. They weren't bound or tied in any way. They went to die willingly. Men and women. It was considered a great honor." Sebastian said.

"Lucky them." Alexa said as Thomas was videotaping some of the hieroglyphics and translating them.

" _They gave their lives so the hunt could begin."_ Thomas spoke as Bobbi walked over to the skeleton on the slab. She looked it over when she noticed the large gaping hole in the chest.

"What happened here?" she asked, shining her flashlight on the hole in the rib cage.

"It's common in ritual sacrifice to take the heart of the victim." Thomas told her.

"Wonderful." Bobbi said sarcastically. "Except that's not where your heart is located. And the bones look like they were bent outward instead of inward. It's more like something broke out of the body."

 _[SCREECH]_ Will turned his head because he could have sworn he heard a screech, like an animal. "Did anyone hear that?" Will asked.

"Hear what?" Dr. Weyland asked.

"Edi, anything on the thermal sensor?" Will asked.

" _I'm not detecting any other thermal readings in the pyramid other than yours."_ Edi said.

"What about that central chamber below the pyramid?" Will asked.

" _The chamber appears to have some kind of thick stone material and ice which makes scanning for a heat signature next to impossible without getting closer."_ Edi said as Will brought up the 3D image of the pyramid to look at the chamber when he noticed a grate on the floor with some kind of serpent carving. He looked down the grate and took out another glow stick. He popped it as it glowed bright green and tossed it down the grate to illuminate a shaft that went straight down about a hundred feet.

"What is it?" Weyland asked as Will looked and saw the faint glow of the glowstick stop about a hundred feet down.

"Looks like a shaft to another level." Will replied. "Another room down there."

"Let's go and see what's down there." Dr. Weyland said as Will nodded.

"Ok, everyone. There's another room directly below us. Rousseau, keep a team here and catalog everything. Get all the equipment up and running and stay sharp. Dr. Thomas, you'll head the research team here until we return." Will said as Rousseau and Thomas nodded.

Will then left with Dr. Weyland, Bobbi, four other SHIELD agents, Sebastian, Alexa and Dr. Miller to go find the other room. They walked down a series of hallways and stairs that was littered with more statues, hieroglyphics, and wall carvings. Will looked at some of the carvings and they depicted the building of the pyramid and whatever civilization lived here a long time ago but what drew his attention were the drawings of two other things. One looked humanoid but was wearing some kind of mask and armor while the other was some kind of bipedal serpent with an elongated head and sharp tail.

They kept walking as Will checked his compass on his computer gauntlet and saw they were nearing the exact coordinates of the sacrificial chamber above. They kept walking and entered a room where Will saw the glow stick he tossed down the grate on the floor.

"Ok, we should be right under the sacrificial chamber." Will said he walked over and picked up the glow stick. They walked into the room and saw some more statues and hieroglyphics but there wasn't anything else until Alexa noticed a large slab of concrete at the far side of the room in the shape of a coffin.

"Sebastian." Alexa said as everyone looked at the coffin and walked over.

"It's a sarcophagus." Sebastian brought his flash light closer to get a better look as he noticed three distinct dials along with numbers he recognized as the Aztec Calendar. "This is the Long count, the Aztec Calendar. And this is some kind of combination lock."

Sebastian looked and noticed two other dials similar to the first one. "Days…months…years." He got a closer look at the dials and the date they were set at. "The dials are set for…1912."

"So, you're saying that someone opened this thing a hundred years ago?" Will asked as Sebastian thought for a moment while everyone thought that was impossible.

"What's today's date?" Sebastian asked.

"April 8th." Alexa said as Sebastian set the dials for 4-8-2012. Once he set the last dial into place, a loud rumbling and crackling came from the sarcophagus as it seemed to open up.

"GET BACK!" Will pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the sarcophagus as everyone got back. The sarcophagus opened up and a cloud of dust was kicked up. Will slowly walked forward and looked at his computer as EDI didn't detect any kind of radiation, toxin, or energy coming from the sarcophagus. He walked over as the cloud of dust disappeared and he saw what was there. "What the hell?"

Everyone got up and looked to see three weird looking devices that kind of resembled tubes but they honestly looked more like futuristic tech than ancient relics. "What the hell are those things?" Alexa asked as Will activated his mask and had Edi run a full spectrum scan on the artifacts and from what she could detect, they were completely harmless. No radiation or detectable energy signature and the things were made up of some kind of steel alloy type metal.

"Any idea what these are?" Dr. Miller asked.

"No. You?" Sebastian asked.

"No." Dr. Miller replied.

"It's a good thing we brought the experts then." Bobbi said.

"Well, yeah, it is a good thing. Because this is like finding Moses' DVD collection." Dr. Miller said as Sebastian chuckled.

Dr. Weyland began having a dry coughing bit as he stepped away from the group to take some puffs from an oxygen tank. Will walked over to see how he was doing. "Are you ok?" He asked as Dr. Weyland nodded.

"A little too much excitement." Weyland said as he took a few more puffs of air.

"Ok, we've been out long enough for today. We're gonna set up base camp at the Whaling station and get back at it first thing tomorrow morning." Alexa said as everyone looked at her before looking at Will.

"You heard her. We've done enough today." Will said as everyone nodded.

"What about these things?" An agent asked.

"Take them. We'll run further tests up on the surface." Weyland said as the agents pulled out the artifacts when Will noticed they were on pressure plates.

"Wait, stop!" Will's warning came too late as they were all removed and the sarcophagus closed back up. A rumbling could be heard throughout the entire pyramid as the entrance was closed off by a three-ton stone slab that came down from the ceiling. The ceiling grate was closed off as well as the doorway to a set of stairs up. Then the stairs up shifted downward to reveal a secret path that wasn't there before. The room stopped shifting around as Will got on the radio.

"Rousseau, come in. Rousseau, report in now." Will spoke into the comm line but there was no response. "Adams, report in. Jefferson, report in. Any SHIELD agent on the line report in now! Edi, what's going on up there?!"

" _I'm not exactly sure but the comms appear to be working. It would seem as those they aren't answering."_ Edi replied.

"Is there anything you didn't tell me about this place?" Alexa asked Dr. Weyland.

"Nothing. Your guess is as good as mine." Weyland told her.

"We just walked into a trap." Will unzipped his duffel bag and pulled out his modified M249 Mk46 LMG and loaded the drum magazine into place. He pulled the slide back and chambered the round and hooked his spare magazine on his belt. The other agents and Bobbi did the same, opening up the suitcases they were carrying to reveal HK G36 assault rifles and loaded them with magazines. Will and his agents turned on the flashlights and laser sights. "Our priority now is to get out of here. That path should take us back to the surface and we regroup at the Whaling station. We'll pick up everyone else on the way there. Donners, Stuart, you two cover the rear. Gomez, Jones, each take a flank. Bobbie with me. Everyone else in the middle. Let's move."

"The heat bloom your satellites detected makes a lot more sense now, Dr. Weyland. A building this sophisticated would require a major energy source. I think that's what your satellite detected. A power plant for this pyramid firing up. Preparing." Dr. Miller told him.

"Preparing for what?" Dr. Weyland asked.

"Let's not stick around to find out. Let's move." Will said as he and Bobbi took the lead while the rest of the agents covered the back and the sides leaving everyone else in the middle. They moved down the new path with their weapons at the ready as Will activated his mask to be ready for any kind of surprises. They then moved to a hallway lined with statues of the humanoid figures Will saw on the cave carvings. They must be whoever this pyramid was dedicated for.

They kept moving down the hall as everyone scanned their corners in case something happened. Sebastian and Alexa looked at one of the statues and noticed something. "Recognize what's on their shoulders?" She asked as Sebastian nodded.

"Yeah." Sebastian walked over to a wall to look at the hieroglyphics.

"We worshipped these things?" Bobbi asked.

"According to this we did. The artifacts we removed from the sarcophagus seemed to be their weapons." Sebastian said as Alexa checked her compass.

"Let's keep moving. Only another 200 yards to the entrance." She said as they kept moving when Will's sensor picked up something…a heat signature.

He raised his hand and everyone froze in place. " **Heat signature, group up!"** Will whisper as everyone did when he noticed they were one short. **"Where's Stuart?"**

Will and the SHIELD agents looked around for Stuart when he saw something by one of the statues and it looked exactly like the carvings. It held up a spear and threw it at them so Will quickly grabbed Bobbie and pulled her to the side to avoid getting speared only for Donners to get the spear right in the chest and pin him to the stone wall.

" **Open fire!"** Will shouted as they fired at the position the spear came from. They fired a myriad of bullets that destroyed the statue and stopped as the agents loaded new magazines into their rifles while Will looked around for it.

"He's dead." Weyland said as he checked on Stuart.

They all heard rumbling and the walls, floors, and ceilings of the pyramid began to shift again. "The pyramid's shifting again!" Sebastian shouted as the agents opened fire. The creature jumped from one side of the hallway to the other and turned invisible mid-jump. And that's when all hell broke loose.

" **Fall back now!"** Will shouted as he and Bobbi grouped up with Dr. Weyland, Sebastian, and Alexa while Gomez fell through the floor to some kind of secret shaft while Dr. Miller and Jones fell through a separate one. Will and his group kept moving when the pyramid stopped shifting and they were trapped in the room.

" **Agents, report in!"** Will spoke into the Comms. **"I repeat, Agents report in!"** Will waited for a response but all he got was a gargled radio response. **"Edi, what's going on with the comms?"**

" _I'm getting some kind of localized signal disturbance which is affecting our communication system. The signal is too advance for me to circumvent but I have managed to deduce that the origin was from your attacker."_ Edi told him.

" **Dammit."** Will said as he brought up the 3D image of the pyramid and tried to get a clear path to the exit but with all the shifting, there wasn't a clear path anymore.

"What on earth was that thing?" Weyland asked as Will shook his head.

" **I have no idea."** Will held up his computer and pressed a few buttons. **"Edi, holographic projection of the attacker. Freeze frame."**

" _Of course."_ Edi replied as she projected an image of the attacker, so everyone could see what attacked them. Edi projected the image from Will's forearm computer and it showed the attacker in mid-jump before it went invisible. Now that everyone got a good look, they saw it was the same thing as all the wall carvings and statues throughout the pyramid.

"It's the same thing as the statues. But how? Where did it come from?" Alexa asked.

" **I have a feeling it didn't come from this planet."** Will said.

"You mean that thing is an alien?" Sebastian found that entire sentence utterly ridiculous. "That's ridiculous."

" **As ridiculous of being in an ancient pyramid in the middle of Antarctica?"** Will asked.

"Fair point." Sebastian replied.

"Whatever that thing is, it's clearly dangerous." Alexa said.

"And smart. It picked off Stuart quietly and used its terrain to its advantage, hiding in the shadows when it threw the spear and staying elevated." Bobbi said.

" **We're dealing with something serious."** Will said as he checked his gun to make sure it was fine. **"Bobbi, how much ammo you have?"**

"Two more mags." Bobbi said. "You?"

" **This drum has half and one more along with my pistol. We need to make them count."** Will said as he checked around to see if there was another way out or in but nothing except for going through solid stone. Dr. Weyland sat down and took a few more breaths from his oxygen tank and tried to calm his breathing, letting out a few heavy coughs.

"Anything on the radio?" Alexa asked.

"No, communication system is jammed and everything else is jammed as well." Bobbi said a Will walked over from doing a quick recon of the area. "Anything?"

" **No. This entire area is cut off."** He said as his computer beeped. He activated the screen and it recorded a slight uptick in energy output.

"What's that?" Alexa asked.

" **Dr. Millers statement that the heat bloom came from a power plant for the pyramid gave me an idea. I set up Edi to scan for any slight energy signatures or fluctuations. Any kind of structure that is able to shift like this would require an extraordinary amount of energy. Edi detected another energy fluctuation which if it means what it think it means…this pyramid is gonna shift again."** Will said as not a second later one of the walls moved down to reveal a new pathway. **"God, I love being right."**

Will and Bobbi held up their flashlights and weapons at the passage. **"Let's stick together."** Will then noticed Dr. Weyland wasn't looking good. **"Are you ok?"**

"I'm fine. Let's get out of here." Weyland said as Will took the led position followed by Sebastian, Weyland, Alexa, and Bobbi. Will moved down the passage with his gun's flashlight and laser sight illuminating the path forward while his mask's sensor system and night vision kept them on the watch for any kind of trap. They made it out of the hallway to a more open area as Will had them group up, so he could keep closer watch on them.

They kept moving when Dr. Weyland dropped the artifact on the ground and grabbed onto a pillar to keep himself from falling. "Weyland." Alexa ran to his side to help him. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied as he reached down and picked up the artifact.

"Leave it. It will only slow us down." Alexa told him.

"Too much has been lost to leave here with nothing." Weyland told her as Alexa sighed.

"Give it to me." She said as Weyland put it in her pack.

Will moved forward when he stopped because Edi detected two heat signatures nearby. Then his danger sense kicked in as he turned and saw the alien come out from a corner and fire a metal net at him. Will rolled to the side and dodged the net as he fired his gun, but the alien ducked behind the wall to avoid the hail of bullets. **"CONTACT!"**

Will's hearing picked up the sound of something flying towards them, so he did a butterfly spin through the air and avoided some kind of shuriken as it skimmed past his arm. Bobbi, Alexa and Weyland managed to move out of the way but Sebastian was too late and was hit with the shuriken and the force stuck him to the wall. The alien walked out from another corner and fired some kind of projectile from its wrist that sliced Will's gun clean in two. The alien knocked Bobbi and Weyland away, the force of the impact sent them into a wall. The alien then focused its attention on Alexa before Will charged forward and tackled the alien away from her. He rolled from the impact and threw the Alien over his head and onto the ground as he quickly got to his feet. The alien held up its gauntlet as two blades popped out of its gauntlet and it held up a metal stick that unfolded into a spear.

Will activated his shield and wrist blade as the alien got in a fighting stance. The Predator thrust with its spear, intending to end this fight in an instant but Will raised his shield and it blocked the spear. The Predator stopped for a moment because it didn't expect to see its spear stopped by the human's shield. Will felt the impact of the spear thrust and knew that this thing was strong, but his super soldier strength evened the playing field as the thrust didn't force him back or break his arm. Will pushed back and did a jumping spinning hook kick and hit the Predator in the face as the impact forced it back. The Predator's head turned from the kick but then it turned back sharply and growled, which Will guessed that he pissed it off as it charged at him. It spun the spear and tried to stab Will, but he kept blocking and dodging. Will backflipped to avoid a spear to the legs and swiped his wrist blades but the Predator raised his blades to block them. Will locked blades with the Predator before pushing it back and doing a jumping kick to its torso and knocking it back a bit.

Bobbi looked up from the ground to see Will fighting the alien, so she quickly reached for her assault rifle when some kind of shimmering invisible figure kicked her in the gut and knocked her into a wall. Bobbie groaned in pain as she managed to sit up and see the shimmering outline of something. She pulled out one of her fighting sticks when she heard the _schink_ of a metal blade leave its holster. The figure was about to kill Bobbie when some kind of sharp tail impaled the figure in the stomach. The invisible shimmer flickered with electricity as the figure decloaked to reveal it was another alien like the one Will was fighting. The Predator was lifted into the air, the tail still through its body as it was turned around and some kind of serpent alien came out of the shadows, this was a _Xenomorph_. The Xenomorph brought the Predator closer as it growled at its prey before opening its mouth to reveal and smaller secondary mouth which shot out and broke straight through the Predator's mask and skull, spraying Bobbi with its bright green blood.

The Predator Will was fighting pushed him away before turning to see his brother killed by a Xenomorph and growled in anger. The Xenomorph tossed the dead Predator away as it focused its attention on the new one. The Predator ran at the Xenomorph which screeched and jumped forward as the two aliens clashed in an epic fight. Will saw the two aliens fight one another and wondered why the Predator would rather fight the serpent but decided not to press the issue and get the hell out of there before the winner wanted another fight.

" **Come on!"** Will shouted as he ran over to grab Bobbi, Alexa, and Weyland. He grabbed Weyland and hoisted him up as Bobbie grabbed her assault rifle and saw the Xenomorph was on top of the Predator, scratching and clawing at it's armor. Will carried Weyland as the four ran as fast as they could away from the fight.

The Xenomorph clawed the Predator's helmet and lashed out it's second mouth to try and kill the Predator. It then managed to get enough leverage and pushed the Xenomorph off and sent it crashing into a pillar. The Predator got back to its feet as the Xenomorph growled at it. The Predator lunged with its spear but the Xenomorph lashed out its tail and knocked the spear out of the Predator's hand. The Predator swiped with its wrist blades as the blades clashed with the Xenomorphs sharp tail. The Predator leaned back as the tail flew by its head and smashed into a pillar and then lashed on the Predator's foot and tripped it, sending it on its back. The Xenomorph then jumped onto the Predator and stabbed its tail down but missed and it got stuck in the ground. The Predator flicked its wrist blades and they reverse position. He sliced the Xenomorphs tail causing it to screak in pain as it backed away. The acid from the Xenomorph melted the Predator's wrist blade so it charged forward and tackled it into a pillar, cracking it in half. It grabbed the Xenomorph by the leg and began spinning it around, smashing its face into the walls before throwing it down the hall.

The Predator let loose a loud roar and charged forward as the Xenomorph flicked its tail and sprayed its acid blood all over the place with some of it hitting the Predator's chest armor. It quickly discarded it before it melted through and saw the Xenomorph used the opportunity to slink away. The Predator looked around as its visor tried to track down the Xenomorph's location. The Xenomorph was actually above the Predator. It slowly crawled out from the small crevice it was hiding in and lunged at the Predator, but the Predator turned and fired another metal net at the Xenomorph. The Xenomorph was caught in the net and crashed onto the ground with enough force that it broke through the stone and landed in a secret graveyard filled with human skulls. The Xenomorph screeched and tried to get free but the net slowly constricted around it's body as the razor-sharp metal of the net began to cut into the Xenomorph's body.

The Predator jumped down into the graveyard and pulled out a knife from its boot as it slowly walked over to the Xenomorph. The Xenomorph screeched as the metal net cut into its skull and the acidic blood slowly began to degrade the metal. The Predator raised its knife to take its kill when the acidic blood melted through one knot of the net and the other knots on the net broke apart and the Xenomorph broke free. It lunged and tackled the Predator to the ground and got on top, knocking its knife away and then killed with its inner jaw piercing through its skull. The Predator slumped to the ground dead as the Xenomorph screeched in success and enjoyed its kill.

Line Break xxxxx

Will carried Dr. Weyland as he along with Bobbi and Alexa made their escape as fast as they could. To be honest, they didn't even know if they were going in the right direction…they just needed to get the hell out of there.

"What the hell was that thing?" Alexa asked.

"I'm not sure but let's not stick around to deal with the winner!" Bobbi shouted as they ran up a set of stairs.

"I've got to stop. Stop!" Weyland said as they stopped on the stairs and Will put Weyland down. His lips were blue, he was sweating profusely, and his breathing was getting more and more erratic.

"Weyland, look at me. You have to slow your breathing down. Slow, steady breaths." Will deactivated his mask as he handed Weyland his oxygen tank and he took a few breaths. Bobbi held her rifle at the ready while Will and Alexa looked at Dr. Weyland as best they could. "Just relax. I'm gonna get you out of here. I'm not gonna let you die down here."

"You didn't." Weyland told him when Edi picked up another heat signature nearby and Bobbi saw a shadow by the doorway.

"There's another one!" Bobbi shouted as she fired a few bullets, but they bounced off its armor and pissed it off. "We need to go!"

Will took out a flashbang pellet and threw it at the Predator. It concussed the alien and gave them a few more seconds. "Weyland, let's go!" Will picked him but Weyland pushed them away.

"No. Will, get them out of here! Get to the surface and destroy this place! Go now!" Weyland pushed him away but Will decided to finally let loose.

"Hey, ugly!" Will shouted as he sent out a force wave and it knocked the Predator back out the doorway and slammed it into the wall. "Nice sentiment but we've lost enough as it is."

He picked up Weyland and threw two explosive pellets at the doorway to collapse it as he, Alexa, and Bobbi ran away. They made it to the top of the stairs and down the hallway a bit when Edi detected an energy signature flicker. "Crap." Will said as the floor began to rise. "MOVE!"

They down the hallway as fast as they could or at least as fast as Bobbi and Alexa could while Will moved faster than they could. He made it down another hallway and knew that Bobbi and Alexa wouldn't make it so he levitated them up and pulled them to him as they zoomed through the air and made it just before the hallway closed up when a spinning shuriken flew at them, but Will caught in hand before it hit him.

"I hate that thing." Will said as he put Dr. Weyland down against the wall so he could catch his breath.

The Predator looked at the room the humans were in and knew it couldn't get to them until the pyramid shifted again. It heard noise as a Facehugger flew through the air towards it so it threw another spinning shuriken and sliced it clean in two, both halves flopping on the ground before it stopped moving. The shuriken curved through the air and returned to the Predator like a boomerang. A Xenomorph slowly and carefully crawled down from the ceiling and was inching closer and closer to kill the Predator silently when the Predator sliced its shuriken across the Xenomorph in one quick motion. A few seconds passed before part of the head of the Xenomorph fell down to the ground to reveal it was cut clean off. The rest of the body slumped to the ground as the acidic blood melted the stone floor. The Predator flicked its shuriken twice and it collapsed into a small circular disk that it put on its belt.

Will walked over to a small opening/window and saw the Predator over the body of a dead Xenomorph. It pulled a plug out of its facemask and then took it off its face. "Jesus that is one ugly alien." Will said as Bobbi and Alexa walked over to see what it was doing.

The Predator reached down and ripped off one of the legs of the Facehugger. "What's it doing?" Alexa asked.

"I don't know." Will replied as they saw the Predator used the Facehugger's acidic blood to melt some of the armor and carve a symbol into its mask. A diagonal mark from right to left and then a curved mark that went down. It then did the same thing and carved the symbol on its forehead, growling in pain. "It's marking itself."

"What?" Alexa asked.

"Some cultures would mark themselves with the blood of their kill. Kind of like a rite of passage." Will told her.

"You study archaeology as well?" Bobbi asked.

"No, ancient history and cultures course in college." Will said as he picked up a large stone slab off the ground and put it in the opening.

"So, now there are two aliens who are after us?" Alexa asked as Will shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah because one wasn't enough but where did that serpent come from?" Bobbi added as Will walked over to check on Dr. Weyland who was doing ok but would need some medical attention soon.

"Not sure. There's a lot about this place we'll never know about." Weyland said as Will looked at the hieroglyphics on the wall and got an idea.

"But I think I know where we can learn." Will pressed a few buttons on his forearm computer and activated a scanning beam which he ran over all the hieroglyphics in the room. "Edi, translate."

They waited a few seconds and Edi finished translated the hieroglyphics. _"Translation complete."_ Edi replied as Will looked over the translation.

"What does it say?" Alexa asked.

"It looks like the history of this place." Will said as he looked it over. "Thousands of years ago, these Hunters found a backwater planet and encountered the earliest humans. They taught humans how to build and were worshipped as gods. Every hundred years, the gods would return and when they did…they would expect a sacrifice. Humans were used to breed the ultimate prey. The hunters would battle with these great serpents, to prove themselves worthy to carry the mark. But if the hunters lost…they made sure nothing survived."

"That would explain why there's never been another discovery of a pyramid like this. This must be the last one." Bobbi.

"An entire civilization was wiped out overnight." Will said.

"So, the humanoids, the hunters…they brought those things here to hunt?" Alexa asked.

"And they need vessels to breed them…hosts. The heat bloom we detected was designed to lure us down here. This entire thing was a trap for a sick game…and we fell for it." Will said. "Without humans, there couldn't be a hunt."

"We need to destroy this place." Weyland said as Will nodded. "We can't let any of those things escape."

"They won't." Will said as he looked at the shuriken in his hand. He then pressed the two trigger devices on the inside of the disk and the blades retracted into the disk. "That's better."

He put it in his belt and checked his heat sensor and saw that it wasn't picking up another signature, so the Predator must have left. "That thing is gone for now. When that door opens, we make our way out of here and find anyone else we can." Will told them.

"You think you can take that thing down?" Bobbi asked.

"I should be able to handle it. The only thing that concerns me is the Serpents. Where the hell did they come from and are there more?" Will wondered as Alexa was thinking of something. "What is it, Alexa?"

"We're outnumbered. We need to set this right." She said.

"What do you mean?" Weyland asked.

"This pyramid is like a prison. We took the guards' guns, and now the prisoners are running free. To restore order, the guards need their guns." Alexa said. "When that door opens, we're gonna give that thing its gun back."

"You want to arm that thing? That thing already killed my entire team and who knows who else and you want to give it a weapon that can do god knows what?" Will thought she was crazy. "We're being hunted and the last thing we want is to arm the hunter."

"Except we're not the actual prey. You saw it before, the thing stopping fighting you and fought the serpent. We're in the middle of war…it's time to pick a side." Alexa said.

"We already have a side." Bobbi said.

"And we're losing. We don't know exactly what's going on, but that thing does. And we need to make sure those serpents don't make it to the surface no matter what. If they get loose, everything everywhere could die." Alexa said.

"I'm not gonna let that happen, trust me." Will said as he handed Bobbi the drum magazine from his machine gun, so she could use it. His computer beeped, and they waited for the door to open only for a wall on the opposite side to slide open. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Will picked up Weyland and they moved down the hallway together. Bobbi had her rifle up as Alexa used her flashlight to give them some light. They kept moving as Edi's heat and motion sensor kept an eye out for anything. They turned down a hallway when Will's danger sense kicked off and he heard a screech down the hall and saw one of those serpents. It jumped forward, but Will sent out a force wave and knocked it back into the wall. Bobbie and Will fired dozens of bullets that ripped through the Xenomorph's armor and exoskeleton. The Xenomorph fell to the ground with its head blown to pieces and its acidic blood dropping onto the ground and melting through the stone.

"Acid blood. Good to know." Will said as they kept moving and came to a bridge that was destroyed. He jumped over the gap with Weyland and then levitated Bobbi and Alexa over.

"Didn't know you could do that." Bobbi said.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Will told her as they kept moving. They moved down an open hallway that had multiple entrances on each side, so they stayed alert. They kept moving until they came to a dead end. Will's danger sense kicked in, so he turned around but didn't see the alien anywhere. He checked Edi's scanner and it was picking up another heat signature, so he knew it was close by. "I know you're out there!"

"What are you doing?" Alexa whispered as Will put Weyland down.

"Trust me." Will told her. "I know you're watching us! You've been watching us since we stepped foot here! Your species hunts for sport…then hunt me! I fought one of you to a standstill and I knocked you on your alien ass! So, come out you ugly motherfucker!"

Will waited a few seconds when he heard footsteps behind him and a shimmer of electricity revealed the Predator standing there. Will recognized the weapon in its hand as the collapsible spear and knew it wanted to fight. "Stay back." Will told Bobbi who nodded as she got in front of Alexa and Weyland to protect them. They took a few steps back while Will faced off against the Predator.

The Predator unfolded its spear and held it up while Will activated his mask. His mask's glowing blue eyes stared at the Predator as he activated his wrist blades and the Predator did the same. " **You're gonna regret coming back to his planet."** Will told him as the Predator let loose a roar and charged forward.

It charged forward but once it got close Will flipped over the Predator and sliced his wrist blades down the back of the neck and spine. The Predator stopped and slumped to its knees as Will then slashed his blades across its neck and sliced the alien's head off from its body as it fell to the ground dead, staining the ground with bright green blood. **"Told you so."** Will sheathed his wrist blades. **"Got to love Vibranium."**

"You killed it." Alexa said.

" **Told you I could handle it."** He said as he looked down at the dead alien. **"That was for my team you son of a bitch."**

Will knelt down to the head of the alien and did a quick mental download before the brain died completely. It was a lot of information to take down, but Will got everything. The language and knowledge to understand it, the technology, and why they were here. Like the story on the hieroglyphics said, the Predators or as the species was called, _Yautja,_ came to earth thousands of years ago and helped the early humans build. The serpents were known as Xenomorphs and were deadly but like Will suggested, they were bred meaning that the chamber at the very bottom of the pyramid housed the Queen of the Xenomorphs.

Will shook his head from the enormous information download. " **The hunters are dealt with."** Will deactivated his mask as he looked at Weyland, Alexa, and Bobbi. "But the serpents are still a problem and they have a queen."

"A queen?" Bobbi asked.

"Yup." Will said as he reached down took the gauntlet off of the Predator's arm. He pressed a button and the gauntlet opened up reveal some kind of computer. Will closed it back up and grabbed another shuriken disk from the Predator's belt along with a metal knife. He then saw four flat triangular shaped devices that he knew from his mental download as laser nets, so he took them as well. He grabbed the spear off the ground and pressed a button on the handle and it collapsed into itself for him to carry. "Let's go and see if we can find anybody."

They kept moving down the hall when Will noticed some weird goop/slime on the ground and a solidified slime on the walls that resembled a sort of weird fungus structure that spread around. Will checked his map and saw they were heading back to the ceremonial chamber. They moved into the room and it was covered in the slime/fungus structure with maybe a hundred eggs scattered around. There were some that were empty indicating that those eggs turned into the Xenomorphs. But then Will saw something that made his heart sink completely. His entire SHIELD team along with the researchers and archaeologists that were on the expedition were strung up on the wall with gaping holes in their chests…they had been hosts for the Xenomorphs.

"Oh my god." Will said as Alexa, Bobbi, and Weyland saw the horrors of what the Serpents did. "My entire team…all of them…this is my fault. I was supposed to protect them."

"This isn't your fault, Will. You couldn't have known." Bobbi told him.

"She's right. If anything, this is my fault. You urged us multiple times to go back but I kept us going." Weyland told her. "Their deaths are on my hands."

"Thank you for that but this is on me. I should have gotten us out of here the second something seemed off." Will said as he looked at his dead men. "I promised them to protect them and I couldn't do that."

"It's no ones fault except for the things that did this. We kill them all and make sure nothing leaves this place." Alexa said when they heard a loud roar and the pyramid shake.

"I think their mother just woke up." He said as he opened up the Predator's gauntlet and pressed a few buttons as red alien symbols appeared on the gauntlet.

"What are you doing?" Bobbi asked.

"Blowing this entire place to smithereens. This thing is a powerful explosive. Nearly nuclear. It'll be enough to level this entire place and wipe out every single one of them." He said as he pressed one more button and threw it in the middle of the egg nest. "Let's go!"

He picked up Weyland and they ran as fast as they could out of the pyramid. They managed to find a route that took them back to the large staircase as they made their way down and over to the equipment by the giant tunnel in the ice. He heard a screech and saw Xenomorphs charging at them, so he took out some explosive pellets from his shoulder holster and threw it at the Xenomorph. The Xenomorphs jumped into the air at the pellets and they exploded which blew the Xenomorphs into pieces. Will levitated Bobbi, Alexa, and Weyland and flew them up the tunnel just as the Predator nuke went off, destroying the pyramid. A wave of fire collapsed the ice cavern and came up the tunnel as Will flew them out, the biting wind and ice nipped at their skin.

They flew out of the tunnel as the explosion destroyed the tunnel and shot out into the air like a flamethrower. The resulting explosion caused a chain reaction that caused the ice holding up the buildings in the whaling town to collapse. The buildings and ice sank in to the ground as the entire town was destroyed. Will flew them down and they landed on the ground, seeing the destruction the explosive caused. The pyramid was definitely destroyed and every single one of those Xenomorphs were dead.

"It's over." Weyland said as he took a deep breath with his oxygen tank. "Nothing could have survived that."

"Definitely. That pyramid is gone for good." Will said as he called into SHIELD ship. "SHIELD Carrier 7 this is Agent Detmer reporting in, please respond, over."

" _Agent Detmer, this is SHIELD CT station 29 on SHIELD Carrier 7, we've been trying to reach you for a while but received some kind of interference on our end. What's the situation, over?"_ SHIELD CT said over the radio.

Will took a moment before answering. "Situation escalated quickly. Unknown hostiles were waiting for us. The entire expedition was a trap." Will reported in.

" _Roger that, Agent Detmer. How many survivors?"_ Will looked at Bobbi, Weyland and Alexa.

"Four." Will reported in a somber tone.

" _Understood. Units are on their way for pickup and assessment."_ SHIELD CT reported in when the ice beneath their feet rumbled and they heard a crackling sound.

"That's not good." Bobbi said as the crackling and rumbling got more intense and constant and then part of the ground burst open and something crawled out. The ice caved away and a massive Xenomorph burst out from the ground and crawled onto the ice on its hind legs. The other Xenomorphs they've encountered were about human size but this was easily four times as big, easily 30 to 40 feet tall. It has a long tail with a razor sharp blade at the end and it had a crown like skull…this was the Queen Xenomorph.

"What is that thing?!" Alexa shouted.

"We just upset the queen!" Will activated his mask. **"Bobbi, get them out of here!"**

"I'm not leaving you!" Bobbi told him as Will took out his pistol and fired a few shots at the Queen. The bullets hit the queen and hurt it but because of the sheer size of the queen, it was like shooting a bear with a bb-gun. It hurt the Queen but wouldn't do anything lethal.

" **That was an order!"** Will shouted as the Queen screeched and whipped it tail around and nearly skewered Weyland had Alexa not pushed him out of the way. Bobbi grabbed Alexa and Weyland and they ran away as the Queen saw and followed them. Will put his pistol away and took out the two small disks and unfolded them into the shurikens. He threw them and they whizzed through the air and sliced through Queen's side and neck before spinning around and flying back into Will's hands. He threw them again and sliced the top part of its crown off along with making another slash on the side, causing it to bleed and the acidic blood to melt the snow. " **Hey, you ugly bitch! Follow me!"**

The queen screeched as it charged at Will who ran and took it in the opposite direction from Bobbi and the others. Will ran through the ice as the Queen charged after him, growling and screeching and was hell bent on eating Will alive. Will slowed down a bit so the Queen could gain on him and when it was closer; he stopped suddenly and ran in the opposite direction underneath the queen. He dove to the side to avoid the tail and then jumped onto the back of the queen. He unfolded his spear and stabbed it into the back of the Xenomorph Queen as it screeched and bucked in pain to try and get him off. It whipped its tail at Will but he activated his wrist blades and sliced the tail clean off, the acid blood hitting his clothes and coating his wrist blades. Will held onto the spear as the Queen tried to buck him off and the acid melted his snow parka but he saw it wasn't melting his combat jacket or his wrist blades.

" **Man I really love Vibranium."** Will then took out his pistol and fired his entire clip into the back of the Queen. The bullets cracked off the Queen's armor and made it shout in pain. Will took both his shoulder pellet straps off and pressed the timer on the explosive ones before throwing it into the crack in the Queen's armor. He then back flipped away and onto the ice as the Queen bucked and roared at Will when the explosives went off. The explosion blew off most of the Queen's back and body as it fell onto the snow.

Will stood up and walked over to the downed Queen and saw somehow it was still alive as it weekly screeched out and tried to move but couldn't. The Queen looked at Will and lashed out its second jaw in anger but couldn't muster the strength to get up. Will held up his hands and levitated the Queen's head up off the snow and then made a fist, crushing the Queen's head within itself and killing it. The head slump to the snow as Will looked at the spear in his hand and retracted it back into a smaller size as Bobbi, Alexa, and Weyland came over.

"Is it dead?" Alexa asked as Will took Bobbi's assault rifle and fired the entire drum magazine into the crushed head and the rest of the body. He kept firing continuously until heard the distinct clicks that the drum magazine was empty.

" **Just making sure."** Will said as he deactivated his mask and activated his comm system. "SHIELD CT, estimate on pick up?"

" _ETA, 8 minutes. Is everything ok?"_ They responded.

"A little complicated. You'll see when you get here." Will said as he ended the call.

 **Triskelion, Washington D.C. April, 2012**

After the pickup in Antarctica, Will informed command about the disaster of the mission and what happened and they were immediately brought back to the Triskelion for debrief while another team cleaned up the mess in Antarctica. Will was immediately brought to a secure meeting where and told the Director what happened. The pyramid, the weapons, the Predators and the Xenomorphs along with the Queen and destroying everything: he told them everything. Afterward, he was told to wait and so he's been waiting in the debriefing room for the past hour. He knows that SHIELD would make arrangements for all the families of the agents and researchers on the expedition along with taking care of Alexa and making sure she didn't breathe a word of this to anyone.

Bobbi had to go through a debrief as well as Dr. Weyland but Will guessed he was doing fine as he was leading the research team on analyzing the weapon they had from the pyramid. Will was brought out of his thought when Deputy Director Hill and Director Fury walked in.

"Agent Detmer, are you positive that you took care of the aliens at the Pyramid?" Hill asked as he was confused a bit.

"Yes, Director Hill. I killed two of them and the third was taken care of by a Xenomorph. And I blew up the pyramid with the Alien's bomb and killed the Queen. Nothing could have survived that." He said.

"How much information did you get when you did a mental download on the _Yautja?_ " Fury asked.

"A lot. I understand their language, weaponry, and their species." Will replied.

"And in your professions opinion, do we have anything to worry about from a possible invasion?" Fury asked.

"Invasion? I don't think so, sir. From what I saw, this species isn't a conquering kind. They came to Earth thousands of years ago, yes but that was to find a game preserve. With the pyramid destroyed…the only time they'd come back to Earth is if they want another hunt." Will said. "Is there something I should know?"

Fury nodded to Hill and she handed him a tablet with some pictures, data, and a crude drawing of the humanoid alien he fought with. And there was already a designation for the Alien…The Predator. "This isn't the first time we've encountered the Predator. The first reports come from 1987. An elite squad of Green Berets was deployed into the Central American Jungle on a CIA mission. There were only two survivors and said that whatever killed the rest of the team was invisible, possessed highly advanced weaponry…and killed them like a sports hunter. The next one was in 1990 Los Angeles. It took town a Columbian and Jamaican Drug Cartel along with a small CIA contingent team. Same description and weaponry." Fury told him as Will looked over the reports and it was a Predator he fought. "This leaves us with your encounter with the species."

"The only thing we know for sure about the species is that they're intelligent, cunning, strong, and live for the thrill of the hunt. With your information, we've learned more about their species than we have in the last 20 years." Hill said. "But this new one is a concern."

"The Xenomorphs." Will said as they nodded. "The Queen is dead. I crushed her skull and nearly blew her in two, not to mention unloaded an entire drum magazine into her body. They're not invincible…just persistent like bugs."

"And it's a good thing we sent you on the mission because if we hadn't, those things would have likely gotten out and do god knows what." Fury said as Will nodded.

"Then it's a good thing they're all dead." Will said. "And if another Predator shows up…I'll be ready."

 **End of Chapter 4**

 **1). His right forearm guard has the Predator wrist mounted blades that extend and retract. His left forearm guard as a built-in computer and a retractable small shield like Guardians' in the Young Justice Cartoon. Not the Arrowverse Guardian, the small one from Young Justice.**

 **2). Earth X's Dark Arrow outfit except Black and Blue, not Black and Red. Black as the main color, Blue for the streaks and lines. He has the flechettes around his ankles and his pistol strapped to his leg. The mask's eyes are colored blue instead of red as well. No quiver and bow unless he needs to use one.**

 **3). Two small metal spheres Will is able to control, shoot out, enlarge, and shape. Like how Magneto used the iron spheres to escape his prison in X-2: X-men United.**

 **4). EDI from Mass Effect.**

 **I hoped you guys liked the chapter, Will's got his combat gear, his codename and now understands what exactly he is. He's met the Inhumans and is fully embracing his new job as a SHIELD agent and dealt with two alien species that aren't so friendly. But he did get some pretty good weapons from the deal so that's a plus. And he'll need them because soon he'll be met with an invasion and it'll be up to him and a few others to stop them. But…some assembly will be required.**

 **Will finally met the Inhumans on the moon and now knows what he really is and why he's so different. In the comics, Primagen was a special energy crystal that helped caused the evolution of many species in the galaxy including the Kree. They sought to make their own Primagen which ended up becoming Terrigen and used in the Inhuman experiments. Primagen causes a more powerful Terrigensis transformation in Inhumans which is why Will has both telekinesis and telepathy. It also plays an important role in Inhuman history. The reason they only detected Will as an Inhuman is because he actively uses his powers and the energy from the Primagen is more potent than Terrigen. In Agents of SHIELD, the Inhumans of Afterlife don't use their powers regularly like Will does so that's why they can't detect them. The Inhumans will play a bigger role in this story than they do in the MCU and Will will be kind of the leader/ambassador for Inhumans and help them when the time comes.**

 **So that everyone knows, I've read all the reviews and messages about sending Will to the Arrowverse world and I will do it. It won't be next chapter, but it will happen. The question is do you think I should send him during Season 4 and put Damien Darkh in his place and save Laurel or send him during a different season? And how long should he be there? For a few episodes and then head back like no time passed or for an entire season so he could be there for an epic crossover? And should he be able to pop back like Supergirl does?**

 **William Detmer**

 **Moniker=** Aegis _(means something under protection from a benevolent source/Shield of Zeus and Athena)_

 **SHIELD Status:** Level 5 Agent/ Avenger Candidate/ Special Operations, Tactics and Defense Specialist (SOTD)

 **Appearance:** Stephen Amell from Arrow, Season 1 build **.**

 **Combat gear:** Earth X's Dark Arrow jacket and pants with full-face mask colored Black and Blue. Eye covers in mask are colored blue as well. Shoulder strap pellet holders. Combat gloves and forearm guards with weapons and equipment.

 **Weapons:**

 **Signature Guns:**

Modified Heckler & Koch P30L handgun.

Modified Knight's Armament SR-25 Sniper rifle with modified scope, bipod, and suppressor.

Modified M249 Mk46 Light Machine gun with a modified barrel, magazine insertion well. Equipped with adjustable buttstock, 100-round magazine drum, deployable bipod, red dot sight, flashlight and laser sight attachment.

 **Others:**

Right forearm guard wrist mounted retractable Vibranium/alloy blades.

Left forearm guard wrist mounted small retractable Vibranium Shield & touchpad computer.

10 dark blue flechettes/throwing arrows wrapped around his ankles.

2 Vibranium orbs that Will is able to manipulate.

Natural Language Modified Artificial Intelligence program EDI.

Predator Combi stick/spear

2 Predator Shuriken

4 Laser net devices

Predator knife

 **Casual Outfit:** dark blue or black sneakers, jeans, blue or black t-shirt and either a zip-up hoodie, jacket, or button up over.

 **Born:** September 8th, 1988-Currently 23

 **Notable talents:** Genius level intellect potential, self-defense military training from Harold Detmer, knowledge, and training in 15 types of martial arts, gun knowledge and expert marksman trained by Clint Barton, espionage and spy skills trained by Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD tactics and medical training from Coulson and SHIELD trainers, well-crafted knowledge and understanding of psychology, knowledge, and experience with engineering both mechanical and electrical.

 **Personality:** Kind, caring, composed, attentive, intelligent, and driven. Can be a bit of a smartass.

When insulted, angered, or in a serious situation, focused and relentless. Considered dangerous and unforgiving in these types of situations.

Uses powers sparingly in the field unless absolutely needs to.

 **Pairing:** Will x Skye/Daisy Johnson x Crystal

 **Powers: (If in bold, capable of doing now)**

 **Rakyat Tatau:** _Mystical tattoo that enhances speed, strength, stamina, intelligence, instincts, healing speed ad metabolic function to absolute human peak potential. (Captain America Level Super Soldier)_

 **Telekinesis, the ability to impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other non-physical means: Power Level=Adept**

 **Binding-** _to keep an object/being from moving_

 **Levitation-** _to lift an object_

Orbital Field-to makes objects and energy orbit around user

 **Telekinetic Shield** - _to create a shield of telekinetic energy around user or others/strength of shield depends on mental strength and focus of user_

 **Psionic Speed-** _to augment user's physical speed_

 **Psionic Strength-** _to augment user's physical strength_

Telekinetic Bullet Projection-projecting telekinetic energy as bullets

 **Telekinetic Choking** - _to strangle someone with telekinesis_

 **Telekinetic Grip-** _To grasp an object firmly in place_

 **Telekinetic Maneuver-** _to alter an object's directional course_

 **Telekinetic Pull & Push-** _to pull or push objects away from user_

 **Molecular Manipulation** - _to manipulate matter at molecular level. Can accelerate, slow down and adjust spacing of molecules. (_ _ **Not fully developed and trained/limited in use.**_ _ie. manipulating Vibranium orbs and reshaping them)_

 **Telekinetic Aura/Sense** - _To sense one's surroundings with telekinesis_

 **Telekinetic Compression-** _to crush or compact an object_

 **Telekinetic Blast-** _to emit telekinetic energy as a blast of blue energy_

Telekinetic Destruction-to make an object explode into dust

 **Telekinetic Flight** - _using telekinesis to fly_

 **Psionic Explosion** - _to create/discharge psychic energy across a wide range_

 **Telepathy, mentally receive or transmit information: Power Level=Adept**

 **Mind Reading** - _ability to read the thoughts of others (Range: 1 mile)_

 **Memory Reading** _-the ability to read the target's memories_

 **Psychic Communication** - _the ability to secretly converse with others_

Telepathic Speaking-to speak aloud using the mind

 **Download** _-the ability to process/download information of another person (If used in a violent or angry mood, can harm the victim)_

 **Knowledge Replication** - _the ability to replicate learned knowledge and skills_

Knowledge Projection-the ability to project knowledge to another

 **Rapid brain activity** - _the ability to process and understand information at incredible rates_

 **Mental Inducement** - _The ability to put the targets mind into the wanted state_

 **Mental Hallucination** - _the ability to cause mental hallucinations_

Mind Link-the ability to develop a permanent mental bond with any person

 **Mind Walking/Melding** - _to enter another's consciousness_

 **Precognition awareness-** _six sense awareness of imminent danger_

 **Telepathic Prediction** - _the ability to know a person's moves by reading their brain waves_

Astral Projection-to separate one's mind from their body and explore physical plane

Telepathic Surgery-the ability to perform neuropsychic surgery, healing and/or damaging the mind

Memory/Mental Manipulation-the ability to manipulate a target's memories and mind

Clairvoyance-the ability to gain direct visual information through non-physical means

 **Foresight** - _the ability to foresee possible future events and observe what may happen (Completely random at the moment. Needs certain triggers to activate)_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHIELD or any Marvel Properties, they belong to their respective owners, I'm just a fan.**

 **Don't worry, there will be more updates this month and next month as a Holiday gift for all my readers. Sorry for the delay but a computer crash and hard drive problems screw you over. The stories I can say for sure I'll update are my Naruto/Game of Thrones story, Naruto/Gotham story, Red Sun story, and my Riverdale story for sure. Some of the stories will be discontinued. Sorry, but it happens and I've kind of lost inspiration for those stories. I'd rather keep my focus on the stories I like rather than the ones I don't. If any of you would like to adopt the discontinued stories, feel free to. I hoped you enjoyed the holidays and have a Happy New Year!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here is Chapter 5. An attack from an Asgardian named Loki makes Fury believe that what he's feared for years has finally come to pass. And while the World Security Council threw out the Avenger Initiative, they might be the world's only hope. But when you put those kinds of people together, egos and ideals clash. The Avengers are a great idea, but some assembly is required. Geez, what did Will agree to. It's like listening to a bunch of four year olds argue…and not in the funny, comedic kind of way. Enjoy! Also, spoilers for Captain Marvel if you have not seen it. I warned you.**

 **If I never said it before, God Bless Stan Lee and may he rest in peace. The world is a sadder place without him. His legacy will live on and he will never be forgotten.**

 **The Perfect One: Avengers Assemble**

 **Central American Airspace: May 2012**

After Will's little alien civil war that he broke up, he stayed at the Triskelion for a bit longer to fill out the file on the Predator and the Xenomorphs. He included everything from their language and the information about their species so SHIELD would have everything incase they came back. They analyzed the weapons Will brought back from Antarctica and they were made up of typical elements like some kind of refined silicate material, indicating that the Predators had their own version of iron and steel but a lot more refined. There were also metals that were alien to planet earth, obviously. But they were lightweight, as durable of Vibranium and the sharpest metal they've ever recorded.

The weapon/artifact from the pyramid turned out to be some kind of energy weapon. It had some kind of internal battery more powerful than anything on earth that size and could create pure plasma and easily be one of the most destructive weapons if in the wrong hands. The plasma caster was staying in a SHIELD lab under the direct supervision of Agent Weyland who was in charge of the research team overlooking the weapon. Even though Will knew how the weapon worked, he was kind of vague with the team because he felt that the world wasn't ready for that kind of weapon. But on the plus side, Fury let him keep the weapons he got from Antarctica. So, yeah.

One thing that SHIELD was working on was the stealth tech from the Predator computer Will got on the mission. It was a lot more complex than the stealth tech they had on the Quinjets and Helicarrier as it was powerful and small enough for a single person to use but it wasn't perfect as it wasn't heat sensor proof and was fickle if wet or hit but was a good step forward. Will sent a copy of the information on the tech to Tony to see if he could rig up something for Will but time would tell. After staying at the Triskelion for longer than he anticipated, he met back up with Captain Rogers. He used that time to help Rogers get a little more adjusted to his new world and had a rare time to train with the only other Super Soldier in the world. He also used that time to check on his own personal things like his bank account, which was doing very nicely because of some investments in Stark Industries. Will was essentially sent for two lifetimes. He made some donations to various charity organizations, including the shelter back home along with Red Cross and St. Jude's, along with helping to pay for his cousin's college fund and whatever else his family needed help with.

At the moment Will had just finished tracking down a lead on a new group he had gotten whispers that were responsible for certain incidents, deaths, assassinations, and attacks all over the world in the last few years. Most of them were considered accidents but Will began to see something as these accidents led to another event of escalating destruction and the way they occurred made him think very skilled people were responsible. Possibly former special forces but something was going on and he only got a name so far… _the Syndicate_.

He was on his way to Florida to dig up another lead and called for a quinjet transport there. Will was sitting in one of the seats in the quinjet dressed in his Aegis Combat gear and getting some much-needed rest. He seemed to be doing fine when all of a sudden, his body flickered blue which meant his powers activated in response to something and Will's dream turned odd.

 _He appeared in some kind of dark space and felt cold and scared. He looked around and saw floating rocks and some kind of platform leading to a chair. Will then saw a sun and planets in the distance…he was in space. Will walked forward along the platform and in the distance saw two figures too far away to see clearly but one seemed to be human the other was blue. He handed the human some kind of weird scepter with a glowing blue gem in the blade. The figure then disappeared, and the blue alien was kneeling before a larger purple one in gold armor._

 ** _"_** ** _The Tesseract has awakened. It is on a little world…a human world. They wield its power, but our ally knows it's working like they never will. He's ready to lead. And our force…our Chitauri will follow."_** _The alien spoke as Will heard weird animalistic shouting coming from far away and saw an army of aliens…at least a million strong if not more._

 ** _"_** ** _The world will be his…the universe…yours. And the humans…what can they do but burn?"_** _The alien spoke, and the purple aliened turned and Will could have sworn he saw him looking straight at him and smirk._

Will shot up from his nap, his breathing labored and heavy as he reeled from what he just saw. "Jesus Christ." Will wiped his forehead and saw he was covered in sweat.

"Everything ok, sir?" The pilot asked as Will looked down at his hands which were still glowing blue.

"No." Will said as he unbuckled his harness and walked up to the pilot. "Change in course. Take us to the Triskelion!"

"Yes, sir. Can I ask why the change in course?!" The pilot asked as he turned the plane to head for Washington D.C.

"An invasion." Will told him.

 **Project Pegasus, Joint Dark Energy Station/Western Division: Mojave Desert**

Project Pegasus was a top-secret SHIELD operation formed on the orders of the World Security Council to investigate phenomena of non-human origin. A joint force between SHIELD and NASA to investigate anything extraterrestrial and devise counter measures for any threats that come from beyond the planet. The Project was super-secret and only select scientists and soldiers were aware of the project's existence and even then, the list of people who actually knew what the project was for is even smaller. At the moment, an alarm was going off through the facility as all SHIELD and NASA personnel were being ordered to evacuate for their own safety.

All the scientists and facility staff were being put into transport vans and vehicles as the SHIELD security personnel helped keep order and made sure everything was going according to schedule. One SHIELD helicopter wasn't leaving but arriving on the helipad where Agent Coulson was waiting. The helicopter landed as Deputy Director Hill and Director Fury disembarked and walked over to Coulson, seeing the controlled chaos of the facility evacuation.

"How bad is it?!" Fury asked.

"That's the problem, sir! We don't know!" Coulson told them as they walked into the main research building and took an elevator down to the Tesseract chamber. "Dr. Selvig read an energy surge from the Tesseract four hours ago."

"I didn't authorize Selvig to go to the test phase." Fury replied.

"He wasn't testing it. He wasn't even in the room. It was a spontaneous event." Coulson told them.

"It just turned itself on?" Hill asked.

"Where are the energy levels now?" Fury asked.

"Climbing. When Selvig couldn't shut it down we ordered the evac." Coulson informed him.

"How long until you get everyone out?" Fury asked.

"Campus should be clear in the next half hour." Coulson told him.

"Do better." Fury ordered as Coulson nodded and got to work while Fury and Hill continued to the Tesseract Chamber.

"Sir, evacuation may be futile." Hill told him.

"So, we should just tell them to go back to sleep?" Fury asked.

"If we can't control the Tesseract's energy, then there might not be a minimum safe distance." Hill said.

"I need you to make sure the phase 2 prototypes are shipped out." Fury told her as Hill was confused.

"Sir, is that really a priority right now?" Hill asked as Fury stopped to look at her.

"Until such a time as the world ends, we will act as it intends to spin on. Clear out the tech below. Every piece of Phase 2 in a truck and gone." Fury told her as she reluctantly nodded.

"Yes sir." Hill said as she had two SHIELD guards come with her.

Fury entered the Tesseract chamber to see Selvig and his team of scientists busy at work to try and figure out what caused the Tesseract to react and how to shut it down. Their SHIELD guards were standing at attention as Fury walked in.

"Talk to me, Doctor!" Fury said as Selvig saw Fury enter.

"Director!" Selvig walked away from the Tesseract and the device it was attached to and walked over to Fury.

"Is there anything we know for certain?" Fury asked.

"The Tesseract is misbehaving." Selvig told him.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Fury asked.

"It's not funny at all. The Tesseract is not only active, she's…behaving." Selvig told him as they walked over to his work station.

"I assume you pulled the plug." Fury told him.

"She's an energy source. We turn off the power she turns it back on." Selvig told him. "If she reaches peak level…"

"We prepared for this, Doctor. To harness energy from space." Fury said.

"Except we don't have the harness. My calculations are far from complete. She's throwing off interference, radiation. Nothing harmful, just low levels of Gamma radiation." Selvig said as Fury looked at him.

"That can be harmful. Where's Agent Barton?" Fury asked as Selvig chuckled.

"The Hawk? Up in his nest as usual." Selvig pointed up and Fury saw Barton on the walkway above the room, keeping a birds eye view on everything.

"Agent Barton, report!" Fury said as Barton rappelled down and walked up to the Director. "I gave you this detail, so you could keep a close eye on things."

"Well, I see better from a distance." Barton said as they walked over to the Tesseract.

"Have you seen anything that would set this thing off?" Fury asked as Selvig was called over by one of his assistants because she was reading an energy surge from the Tesseract.

"No one's come or gone and Selvig's clean. No contacts and IM." Barton said as they looked at the Tesseract. "If there's any tampering sir, it wasn't at this end."

Fury then looked at him. "At this end?"

"Yeah. The cube is supposed to be a doorway to the other end of space, right? Well doors open from both sides." Barton said.

Selvig and his team couldn't seem to figure out what was causing the Tesseract to react in this way but all of that was put to the back of their minds when the Tesseract flashed up and released a shockwave of force that shook the entire campus. The Tesseract continued to flare up with energy as the rumbling continued and seemed to get more intense. All of a sudden, the energy of the Tesseract funneled through the containment device and shot out a beam of energy into the containment field that Selvig and his team designed. The beam of energy formed some kind of portal which opened for about 5 seconds before collapsing in on itself. When the portal collapsed, the energy dispersed and then pooled back together on the ceiling.

Everyone was wondering what the hell happened when the smoke around the containment field dissipated and they saw someone kneeling where the portal used to be. They looked and saw it was some man dressed in a weird green garb and was carrying some kind of spear with a blue gem in it. The SHIELD security team moved forward, weapons ready for a fight as the figure stood to his feet.

"Sir, please put down the spear!" Fury shouted as the man just looked at it before he pointed it at Fury and fired a beam of energy. Barton pushed Fury out of the way and the energy beam smashed through a computer bank. The SHIELD team opened fire as the mystery man charged forward, the bullets bouncing off his clothes. The mystery man impaled the nearest SHIELD soldier with his spear. He then threw two knives and killed two more SHIELD soldiers before firing a beam and killing a few scientists. He slashed another SHIELD agent across the face as Barton and the others opened fire, shooting him in the head but the only thing it seemed to do was piss him off. The man fired another beam as Barton rolled out of the way and an unlucky agent got hit.

The man stood there as he looked at the carnage he created. He walked up to Barton who turned to shoot him, but he grabbed his arm and twisted it. "You have heart." He said to Barton and touched the spear to his chest. The energy from the stone seemed to seep into Barton's body and course through his veins and up into his eyes, turning them white and light blue. The man removed the staff as Barton relaxed and holstered his sidearm.

Fury watch this happen, wondering how this was possible and who this man was. He quickly took the Tesseract out of the containment device and put it into a special briefcase and got up to leave.

"Please don't." The man said, having finished turning another agent like Barton. "I still need that."

"This doesn't have to get any messier." Fury told him.

"Of course, it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki…of Asgard. And I am burdened with glorious purpose." Loki said.

"Loki? Brother of Thor!" Selvig said, knowing who he was.

"We have no quarrel with your people." Fury told him.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot." Loki replied.

"You planning to step on us?" Fury asked.

"I come with glad tidings…of a world made free." Loki said as he walked a little.

"Free from what?" Fury asked.

"Freedom." Loki told him. "Freedom is life's great lie. Once you accept that, in your heart…" Loki touched the scepter to Selvig's chest and turned him as well. "you will know peace."

"Yeah, you say peace, but I kind of think you mean the other thing." Fury said.

"Sir." Barton walked over to Loki. "Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."

"Like the pharaohs of old." Fury told him.

"He's right, the portal is collapsing in on itself. We have maybe two minutes before this goes critical." Selvig said, reading off the data from the computer.

"Well then." Loki looked at Barton who shot Fury in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Barton walked forward and grabbed the case as they made their way out of the Tesseract room. They walked into the cargo area as Hill was there supervising the last of the Phase 2 transport.

"We need these vehicles." Barton said and walked past her. Selvig walked over to the car and got into the passenger seat as Loki got in the back.

"Who's that?" Hill asked, seeing Loki.

"He didn't tell me." Barton said to her.

Hill was confused as she turned around and went to finish her work. " _Hill! Do you copy?!"_ Fury radioed, having survived the gunshot thanks to a bulletproof vest. _"Barton's been turned!"_

Hill rolled forward and took cover behind a crate as Barton fired at her. He quickly got into the truck as the other turned agent got into the car and drove away. Hill fired at them but missed the tires.

 _"_ _They have the Tesseract! Shut them down_!" Fury radioed as Hill quickly got into a car and chased after them. Other Agents arrived to help her and drove after Loki. Barton drove the truck through the tunnel, going fast and swerving through the pillars, road barriers and other cars with Hill and the other agents chasing after them.

Loki stood up in the back of the pickup truck and fired at the chasing cars with his scepter. One of his beams destroyed a chasing sedan that swerved and flipped onto it's roof, causing a roadblock. The Tesseract energy in the chamber had gone critical as Fury hurried to escape and Coulson got the last agents evacuated. Hill had taken a different tunnel and drifted in front of Barton and Loki. She pulled the handbrake, did a 180 reverse turn and pitted Barton from the front. She and Barton fired at each other until her clip was empty. Barton sped forward and pushed her aside, so she quickly did another 180 spin and drove alongside him. The tunnels began collapsing as Hill hit the accelerator, not wanting to be buried but some debris forced her to stop and she got stuck under the crumbling roof.

Barton drove out of the tunnel when Fury's helicopter flew above them. Barton turned and drove off road as Fury's copter hovered alongside them. Fury fired his gun and hit the windshield of the truck but missed. Loki fired an energy beam at the helicopter blades and sent it careening to the ground. Fury jumped out before the helicopter crashed, alive and intact but Barton and Loki drove away with the Tesseract.

 _"_ _Director! Director Fury, do you copy?"_ Coulson radioed in.

"The Tesseract is with a hostile force. I have men down. Hill?" Fury radioed.

 _"_ _A lot of men still under. Don't know how many survivors."_ Hill told him.

"Sound the general call. I want every living soul not working rescue looking for that briefcase." Fury told her.

 _"_ _Roger that."_ She replied.

"Coulson, get back to base. This is a Level 7. As of right now…we are at war." Fury told him.

 _"_ _What do we do?"_ Coulson asked as Fury thought for a moment before he made his decision.

"Assemble the Avengers." Fury ordered.

Line Break xxxxx

 **Triskelion, Washington DC**

Will arrived at the base and saw it was bustling with activity…his instinct was right. Something was going on. He moved through the compound and made his way to the main briefing room where he saw dozens of analysts and technicians moving back and forth, hard at work and following orders. Will walked past all of them and made his way over to Coulson who was in charge while Fury was busy with something.

"Coulson." Will called as Coulson turned and surprised to see him there.

"Will. I thought you were headed to Florida. We were just about to collect you." Coulson told him.

"Change in course and I'm guessing it was the right call. What happened?" He asked as he and Coulson walked through the room.

"Approximately 4 hours ago, one of our research facilities were compromised." Coulson said and he handed Will a tablet with all the information.

"The Tesseract?" Will asked.

"A cube of unknown origin and immense power. First used by the Red Skull during World War 2 and fished out of the Artic by Howard Stark. An Asgardian somehow teleported in and stole it." Coulson told him.

"How dangerous is this thing?" Will asked.

"A small amount of its energy caused an entire research campus to collapse in on itself. If this is left in the wrong hands, the entire planet could be at risk." Coulson told him.

"Just another day in the life of SHIELD. Who took it?" Will asked as the tablet changed to reveal a camera stilled image of Loki.

"His name is Loki, an Asgardian." Coulson told him.

"Like Thor?" Will asked as Coulson nodded. "Great. Under threat of global annihilation by the Norse God of Mischief using an old Nazi superweapon. How many casualties?"

"Only a dozen. Triple that for injured. And two compromised. Dr. Selvig and Barton." Coulson said as Will looked at him.

"How?" Will asked, concerned for his friend.

"Loki's scepter somehow swayed him." Coulson told him.

"Jesus. We've got to find him and bring him back." Will told Coulson.

"And we will. We've already got facial recognition working on finding them, but it'll take some time. Barton knows how we operate but we won't stop until we find him." Coulson said. "Do you think you can reverse whatever Loki did to him?"

"I won't know until I try, and I won't stop until it works. It's the least I owe Barton and I still owe him more." Will told him as Coulson nodded. "Does Laura know?"

Coulson shook his head no. "I don't want to be the one to tell her." Coulson replied.

"So, what's Fury plan?" Will asked.

"The Avengers. We're bringing them in." Coulson told him.

"I thought the Avengers initiative was shut down?" Will asked as Coulson handed him a cellphone and a tablet.

"Not anymore. Contact Romanoff. You two are getting Banner in Kolkata. He can track down the Cube." Coulson told him as he walked away.

"And where are you going?" Will asked.

"To get Stark." Coulson said as Will sighed.

"Sure, leave me with the hard stuff." Will said to himself as he dialed Romanoff's number. He waited, listening to the dial tone and a satellite overview image of the warehouse she was in on the tablet Coulson gave him.

Romanoff was on mission extracting information from General Georgi Luchkov of the Russian Armed forces. She was captured and being interrogated at his smuggling warehouse, but it was actually part of her plan. One of Georgi's men slapped her across the face but she remained calm and collected.

 _"_ _This is not how I wanted this evening to go."_ Georgi spoke to her in Russian.

 _"_ _I know how you wanted this evening to go. Believe me, this is better."_ Romanoff replied.

 _"_ _Who are you working for? Lermentov, yes?"_ Georgi asked as he had one of his men push her chair back, dangling it near a hole in the floor that would send her flying down three stories if he let go. _"Does he think we have to go through him to move our cargo?"_

 _"_ _I thought General Solohob is in charge of the export business."_ Romanoff said.

 _"_ _Solohob? A bagman, a front. Your outdated information betrays you. The famous Black Widow and she turns out to be simply another pretty face."_ Georgi said.

 _"_ _You really think I'm pretty?"_ Romanoff asked as Georgi nodded to one of his men who grabbed Romanoff's head and held her mouth open.

 _"_ _Tell Lermentov we don't need him to move the tanks. Tell him he is out. Well…"_ Georgi walked over to a table and picked up a pair of plyers. "you may have to write it down."

A phone then went off as Georgi reached into his pocket and saw it was Romanoff's phone that was ringing. "It's for her." He said as Georgi took the phone and answered it.

 _"_ _You listen carefully—"_ " _You and your two men are currently at 1-14 Silensky Plaza, third floor. We have an F-22 exactly eight miles out and failing that we have a trained sniper on your position. Put the woman on the phone now or you won't live long enough to realize what a big mistake you've just made."_ Will told him as he watched over Satellite feed.

Georgi walked over and put the phone on to her face. " _Hey, Romanoff, how's your evening going?"_ Will asked.

"I'm kind of busy at the moment, what is it?" She asked.

 _"_ _You need to come in."_ Will told her.

"Are you kidding, I'm working." She told him.

 _"_ _This takes precedence. Level 7 Situation."_ He told her.

"Can't it wait a few minutes. I'm in the middle of an interrogation. This moron is giving me everything." Romanoff said.

"I don't give everything." Georgi said as Romanoff gave him a look.

"Look, you can't pull me off this right now." Romanoff said.

 _"_ _Natasha…It's Barton. He's been compromised."_ Will told her as she got serious.

"Let me put you on hold." She said as Georgi took the phone when she kicked out his knee and headbutted him in the face. She got to her feet and kicked one of Georgi's men before ducking and hitting the other with the chair. She rolled on the ground and slammed the chair on his foot before slamming the back of her head in his nose. She sweeped out his legs and then kicked the other guy back before flipping through the air and slamming on the guy on the floor, breaking her chair and freeing herself. Will listened to the sound of fighting and grunting and knew that those guys are in for trouble.

Romanoff got back to her feet when Georgi's other man grabbed her from behind. Romanoff grabbed his fingers and broke them, causing him to shout in pain and let her go. She elbowed him in the gut and punched him across the face before doing a drop kick and knocking him back. She flipped back to her feet, charged at him and did a head scissor throw, knocking him out. Romanoff walked over and grabbed a chain and wrapped it around Georgi's leg before pushing down the hole she was dangle over a few minutes ago. She walked over and grabbed her shoes and her phone.

 _"_ _I'm back. Where's Barton now?"_ Romanoff asked.

"We're not sure. He's gone off the grid. The person we're after somehow swayed his mind." Will told her.

"But he's alive?" Romanoff asked.

 _"_ _Most likely. Whoever swayed him and Dr. Selvig needs them. I'll brief you fully when we meet. Take your transport and head to Kolkata. We need to get Dr. Banner."_ Will said as he walked over to the transport bay to get a quinjet.

Romanoff heard what he said and paused for a second. _"Oh crap."_ She said in Russian.

 **Kolkata, India**

The city of Kolkata was a bustling metropolis that had seen better days and was literally jampacked with people that if you were claustrophobic, you'd be in trouble. A little girl with some money in her hands was running as fast as he could through the city, rushing past adults to get somewhere. She then ran into a building and up the stairs to see a family in their home with a foreigner using the sink to clean himself up…this was Dr. Bruce Banner.

The mother saw the little girl and tried to usher her out. " _What are you doing here?! Get out! There is sickness!"_ She told the girl.

 _"_ _You're a doctor. My father's not waking up! He has a fever and he's moaning but his eyes won't open!"_ She shouted as Dr. Banner walked over.

" _Slow down."_ He told her.

 _"_ _My father…"_ The girl said as she looked at the sick child on the bed being tended to by his father.

 _"_ _Like them?"_ Banner asked as the girl held up the money she had.

"Please." She begged him as he nodded. He grabbed his bag and followed her. He followed her to an isolated shack on the outskirts of the city. He had her stop and he turned his head as a police jeep drove by because he didn't want any trouble. When they were gone, he followed the girl into the shack. She ran into the back bedroom and he was ready to help when he saw the girl climb out the window and run away. He had been duped.

" **[Sighs]** You should've got paid up front, Banner." He said to himself.

"Eh, don't blame yourself. Anyone would have done the same thing. Something about cute kids makes adults drop their guard." Banner heard as Will and Romanoff stepped out into the living room, so Banner could see them. They were both dressed in regular clothing and Will had a file under his arm.

"You know, for a man who's supposed to be avoiding stress you picked a hell of a place to settle." Romanoff said as Banner put his bag down.

"Avoiding stress isn't the secret." Banner replied.

"Then what is it? Yoga?" Romanoff asked.

"I sure hope not. I'm not that bendy. Which is ironic considering what I can do." Will said to try and lighten the mood.

"You brought me to the edge of the city. Smart. I assume the whole place is surrounded." Banner said.

"Nope. Just us." Romanoff said as she looked at Will. "Trust me, he's all the backup I need."

"Please, you're my backup." Will told her.

"And your actress buddy? Is she a spy, too? They start that young?" Banner asked.

"I did." Romanoff said.

"She's just a young girl who needed the extra money to help her family." Will told him.

"Who are you people?" Banner asked.

"My name is Natasha Romanoff. My friend here who's been trying to lighten the mood is Will Detmer." Romanoff said.

"Are you here to kill me, Ms. Romanoff. Because that's not going to work out for everyone." Banner said as Will unhooked his belt which had his gun, Predator Shurikens, and knife. Banner tensed up a bit as Will placed them on the table. He reached down and undid the fletchette holsters on his ankles as well and placed them with his gun.

"Sorry, forgot I had those." Will then slid everything over to Dr. Banner. He motioned Romanoff to do the same who hesitated but slid over her gun. "We're not here to kill or hurt you in anyway, Dr. Banner. We're with SHIELD…and we need your help."

"SHIELD." Banner said as he looked at them. "How'd you find me?"

"We never lost you, Doctor. We've kept our distance. Even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent." Romanoff told him.

"General Ross included." Will told him as Banner looked at him. "And honestly, after having met the guy I now understand a lot of why you ran."

"Why?" Banner asked.

"Because Nick Fury seems to trust you that you have everything under control. And after reading what happened in Harlem and what's happened since…I agree with him." Will said. "I always believed that Dr. Jekyll had more control than Mr. Hyde. He just didn't know it."

"I'm sure the other guy would disagree with you." Banner said with a chuckle.

"Maybe, but then again you've proven my point." Will said as Dr. Banner looked at him. "Dr. Banner we really need your help. We're facing a serious issue that could put the entire planet at risk."

 **"** **[Chuckles]** Well, I actively try to avoid those situations." Banner said as Will opened the file to show Dr. Banner the image of the Tesseract and slid it over to him.

"This is the Tesseract. If you're familiar with your history, then you should know it was a superweapon that the Red Skull tried to use to win World War 2. Howard Stark fished it out of the ocean after the war…and this cube has the potential energy to wipe all life on earth." Will told him.

"What does Fury want me to do, swallow it?" Banner asked as he looked over the file.

"That I wouldn't recommend." Will said as Banner looked at him. "Probably taste horrible."

"He wants you to find it. It's been taken. It emits a gamma signature that's too weak for us to trace." Romanoff said.

"There's no one on this planet that understands Gamma radiation like you do, Dr. Banner. We need your help." Will said as Banner took off his glasses.

"So, Fury doesn't need the monster." Banner said.

"Not that he's told me." Romanoff said.

"And he tells you everything?" Banner asked.

"He doesn't tell everything to anyone. The man has some serious trust issues. But he doesn't need the Hulk. Quite frankly, I think even he understands that the world doesn't need another Abomination." Will said, referring to Emil Blonsky who became the Abomination after trying to become the Hulk.

"Nice try in the whole reverse psychology thing but I'm not going into a cage." Banner said as Will nodded and stood up.

"All right then." Will said he took back the file. "If you don't want to help…then you don't need to. We're sorry for taking your time, Dr. Banner. We just felt…I just felt that after everything you've been through…you would have wanted to do more to help the planet."

Will grabbed his belt and weapons and he and Romanoff walked to the door to leave. They stepped out and walked away. "Wait." Banner said as they stopped and looked back at him. "Give me a few minutes."

Banner went inside to grab him bag as Will smirked. "Reverse psychology for the win." Will whispered causing Romanoff to chuckle.

 **Helicarrier, World Security Council Briefing Room**

Fury and Hill were at the Helicarrier coordinating everything in response to Loki and the theft of the Tesseract. Fury would have gone straight to New York to get Captain Rogers but was immediately called into the room for a briefing with the World Security Council and they weren't happy.

 _"_ _Director, SHIELD operates under the world Security Council. We should have been informed of all the details."_ Councilman Rockwell told him.

"The Council's interest in our work has always been about results, not procedure." Fury replied.

 _"_ _Agent Clint Barton is intimate with SHIELD procedure, I believe. And now we've learned he's working with the enemy?"_ Councilman Rockwell asked as Fury realized Hill must have told the Council that Barton was turned. _"A man whose talent appears to be—"_

"Killing. But he didn't kill me. He didn't take the head shot. He's been brainwashed but I won't write him off. We're on Loki's trail and we're scrambling a response team to retrieve the Tesseract and I have my best agent working on it." Fury said.

 _"_ _This wouldn't happen to be this Aegis we've read about. One of SHIELD's best agents who happens to be an enhanced individual with abilities that our scientists can't seem to explain and whose identity you won't divulge."_ Councilwoman Hawley told him.

"I'm not at liberty to divulge Aegis's identity to the Council." Fury said.

 _"_ _You're out of line, Director. You're dealing with forces that you can't control."_ Councilman Malick told him.

"Have you ever been in a war, Councilman? In a firefight? Did you feel an overabundance of control?" Fury asked. "Despite my earliest reservations, Aegis has proven time and time again that he is one of Earth's best protectors and given the threat that we're facing, he'll be needed."

 _"_ _You're saying that this Asgard is declaring war on our planet?"_ Malick asked.

"Not Asgard. Loki." Fury corrected him.

 _"_ _He can't be working alone. What about the other one? His brother."_ Hawley asked.

"Our intelligence says Thor is not a hostile, but he's worlds away. We can't depend on him to help us either. It's up to us." Fury said.

 _"_ _Which is why you should be focusing on Phase 2. It was designed for exactly this situation."_ Malick said.

"Phase 2 isn't ready. Our enemy is. We need a response team." Fury said as the Council exhaled in exasperation.

 _"_ _The Avengers Initiative was shut down."_ Malick told him. " _We've seen the list. You're running the world's greatest covert security network and you're going to leave the fate of the human race to a handful of freaks."_

"I'm not leaving anything to anyone. We need a response team. These people may be isolated, unbalanced even, but I believe with the right push they can be exactly what we need. And Aegis is the final ingredient needed and I'm sure that together the Avengers will be able to stop Loki." Fury told them.

 _"_ _You believe?"_ Hawley asked.

 _"_ _War isn't won by sentiment, Director."_ Malick told him.

"No, it's won by soldiers. And I have two of the best in the world." Fury said, thinking of Aegis and Captain America.

 **New York City, New York**

Steve Rogers was in an apartment in New York, watching old 40s wartime footage and newsreels from World War 2 about his fight against the Red Skull and Hydra. Rogers shut the video off as he looked at files SHIELD had on his old team and friends. His Howling Commandos were all deceased along with Howard Stark. Steve saw Peggy Carter's file and she was alive and in a retirement home in DC, having long retired from SHIELD. Steve looked at the phone and contemplated calling her but decided not to. He then looked at two new files: one of Tony Stark and the other on Will Detmer. Steve looked at the file on Tony Stark and couldn't believe it was Howard's son. Tony Stark took over Howard's company and is now a superhero the public calls Iron Man. Steve then looked at Will's file and the brief information he was given on Will's alter-ego, Aegis. According to the file, Aegis was a super soldier like he is, but he had unique abilities that made him different. Having met Will in person, Steve couldn't believe that the nice, funny kid he met was such an accomplished and deadly agent.

Steve then decided to get some air and took a walk outside, getting himself familiar with the new Manhattan. He walked down the street as dozens of tourists or people late to work walked past him. Street vendors and artists line the sidewalk as he walked past an Acura dealership showcasing the new Acura RDX. He felt like he was on another planet. Having been gone for 70 years…he felt like he didn't belong here. He eventually found a small café and got a seat at a small table outside. He drank a coffee and was doing a sketch of Stark Tower which was looming above him.

"Waiting on the big guy?" A waitress asked.

"Ma'am?" Steve asked.

"Iron Man. A lot of people eat here just to see him fly by." She told him.

"Right." He said as he took out some money to pay for his coffee. "Maybe another time."

"Table's yours as long as you like. Nobody's waiting on it. Plus we've got free wireless." She said as she went to tend to the other tables.

"Radio?" Steve asked as she looked back at him in a confused look.

"Ask for her number you moron." The old man sitting next to him said. Steve sat there a little longer before taking a train to Brooklyn and wandering around until he found a boxing gym. He paid the owner some money for a locker and got to training.

He relentlessly pummeled a punching bag and with his super soldier strength so much so that the bag began to wear and tear a bit. Steve focused on the bag as he channeled all the emotions he's been feeling about what's happened. He began to flashback to his final moments in World War 2 in fighting against Hydra and the Red Skull, then taking the over the plane and crashing it down in the water, to his last words with Peggy Carter, and finally the moment he woke up from his deep freeze.

That last moment had the rawest emotion and he lashed out a massive punch that knocked the punching bag off the hook and sent it flying across the room, ripping a hole in the bag.

Steve took a few breaths before walking over to set up a new bag and got back to his workout. "Trouble sleeping?!" Steve heard as he saw Fury there.

"I slept for 70 years, sir. I think I've had my fill." He said as he kept punching the bag.

"Then you should be out, celebrating, seeing the world." Fury said as he walked up to him. Steve stopped and walked over to his bag and began undoing the tape around his hands.

"When I went under, the world was at war. I wake up, they say we won. They didn't say what we lost." He said.

"We made some mistakes along the way. Some, very recently." Fury said as Steve saw he had a file in his hand.

"You here with a mission, sir?" Steve asked.

"I am." Fury replied.

"Trying to get me back in the world?" Steve questioned as he wiped his face with his towel.

"Trying to save it." Fury opened the file to show Steve they were after the Tesseract.

"Hydra's secret weapon." Steve said, remembering when he saw it kill the Red Skull years ago.

"Howard Stark fished that out of the ocean when he was looking for you. He thought what we think: the Tesseract could be the key to unlimited sustainable energy. That's something the world sorely needs." Fury told him as Steve looked over the file and handed it back to him.

"Who took it from you?" he asked.

"He's called Loki. He's not from around here. There's a lot we'll have to bring you up to speed on if you're in. The world has gotten even stranger than you already know." Fury said to him.

"At this point, I doubt anything would surprise me." Steve said as he grabbed his bag.

"Ten bucks says you're wrong. There's a debriefing packet waiting for you back at your apartment. Is there anything you can tell us about the Tesseract that we ought to know now?" Fury asked as Steve walked out of the gym.

"You should have left it in the ocean." Steve said.

Back in Manhattan, Tony Stark was working on getting Stark Tower ready for use and the first step was activating the Arc Reactor. Tony was in the Mark 6 suit at the bottom of the Hudson River putting a power rerouter on the transmission lines so Stark Tower was ready to go off the grid. Once he was finished, he flew out of the river and back to Stark Tower.

 ** _"_** ** _We're all good to go on this end. The rest is up to you."_** Tony said to Pepper.

 _"_ _You disconnected the transmission lines? Are we off the grid?"_ She asked.

 ** _"_** ** _Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining clean energy."_** Tony was proud of this moment as he flew through the city.

 _"_ _Well, assuming the Arc reactor takes over and it actually works."_ Pepper told him.

 ** _"_** ** _I assume. Light her up."_** He said as Pepper did and Stark Tower soon lit up completely with the STARK letters on the front of the building glowing blue.

 _"_ _How does it look?"_ She asked as Tony looked and smiled.

 ** _"_** ** _Like Christmas, but with more me."_** He told her.

 _"_ _We've got to go wider on the public awareness campaign. You need to do some press. I'm in DC tomorrow, I'm working on the zoning for the next three buildings—"_ " ** _Pepper, you're killing me. The moment, remember? Enjoy the moment."_** He said as he flew up the side of the building and landed on the special balcony/walkway he had installed.

 _"_ _Get in here and I will."_ She said as he walked down the walkway and the side panels opened up to reveal a mechanical assembly that began taking off his armor and stowing it away.

 _"_ _Sir, Agent Coulson of SHIELD is on the line."_ Jarvis told him.

 ** _"_** ** _I'm not in."_** Tony said as the robotic arms took off his helmet and chest armor. "I'm actually out."

 _"_ _Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting."_ Jarvis told him.

"Grow a spine, Jarvis. I've got a date." Tony finished his walk and his entire suit was safely stowed away. Je walked into the floor to see Pepper by the computer.

"Levels are holding steady…I think." She looked at the monitor and saw the Arc Reactor was stable.

"Of course, they are. I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next question. How does it feel to be a genius?" Tony walked up to her and placed his ear piece on the desk.

"Well, I really wouldn't know, now would I?" Pepper asked as Tony turned the monitor off.

"What do you mean? All this came from you?" Tony motioned to the entire tower.

"No, all this came from that." Pepper said pointing to this Mark 3 chest piece.

"Give yourself some credit. Please. Stark Tower is your baby. Give yourself…12% of the credit." Tony said as she gave him a look.

"12%?" She asked him as if he was joking.

"An argument can be made for 15." He replied.

"12% of my baby?" Pepper walked away to the couch as Tony followed her.

"Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted the heavy things. And sorry, but the security snafu? That was on you. My private elevator…it was teeming with sweaty workmen." He said as Pepper poured two glasses of champagne. "I'm going to pay for that comment about percentages in some subtle way later, aren't I?"

"It's not going to be that subtle." Pepper told him.

"I tell you what. The next building is going to say Potts on the tower." He told her.

"On the lease." She tried to cheers her glass, but he pulled away.

"Call your mom, can you bunk over?" he joked as an alarm went off.

 _"_ _Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden."_ Jarvis informed him as Coulson came up on Tony's phone.

 _"_ _Mr. Stark, we need to talk."_ Tony grabbed his phone in annoyance and activated the camera, so Coulson could see him.

"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message." Tony said, causing Pepper to chuckle.

 _"_ _This is urgent."_ Coulson told him.

"Then leave it urgently." He replies as Tony's private elevator opened up to reveal Coulson. "Security breach."

"Mr. Stark." Coulson greeted them.

"Phil, come in." Pepper was happy to see him as she and Tony got up.

"Phil? Uh, his first name is agent." Tony said as they walked up to him and Coulson held out a large data file for him.

"We need you to look this over as soon as possible." Coulson told him.

"I don't like being handed things—" "That's fine because I love to be handed things. So, let's trade." Pepper took the file and gave Coulson her glass of champagne, then took Tony's glass of champagne and gave him the data file. "Thank you."

"Official consulting hours are between 8 and 5 every other Thursday." Tony informed Coulson.

"This isn't a consultation." Coulson replied.

"Is this about the Avengers? Which I know nothing about." Pepper said as Tony scoffed and began unlocking the data file.

"The Avengers Initiative was scrapped I thought, and I didn't even qualify." Tony said.

"I didn't know that either." Pepper commented.

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others." Tony recounted what his Avengers file said about him.

"That I did know." Pepper said with a smirk.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore." Coulson informed him.

"Whatever. Ms. Potts, got a second?" Tony motioned her over as Pepper joined him. "You know, I thought we were having a moment."

"I was having 12% of the moment." She said and Tony gave her a look. "This seems serious. Phil's pretty shaken."

"How would you know if it's…why is he Phil?" Tony asked as he unlocked the file and Pepper saw a bunch of information.

"What is all this?" Pepper asked.

"This is…" Tony projected all the information on his holo-computer and it displayed information about Thor, Captain America, Dr. Banner, Aegis, the Tesseract and Loki's attack on Project Pegasus. Tony and Pepper saw that this was indeed serious. Pepper ended up heading to DC that night because Tony had some homework to do.

Line Break xxxxx

 **Secret Location**

Agent Barton had established a secret base to operate out of and enlisted the help of rogue mercenaries and scientists to proceed with Loki's plan to open a wormhole. Dr. Selvig was working with the scientists and engineers on constructing the portal device once they got all the materials they needed. Barton was making sure the mercenaries were all armed and ready for combat. Loki was sitting down in a room with his scepter and prepared for an audience with the Other, the one who he was bartering with to gain his army. Loki closed his eyes and opened up an astral projection communication with the Other.

Loki appeared back on the barren rock scape in the middle of space where the Other was waiting for him. Loki was in his traditional Asgardian garb with his horned helmet and the scepter had elongated into a spear.

 ** _"_** ** _The Chitauri grow restless."_** The Other told him.

"Let them goad themselves. I will lead them in the glorious battle." Loki replied.

 ** _"_** ** _Battle?"_** The Other scoffed at the idea. **_"Against the meager might of earth?"_**

"Glorious, not lengthy." Loki informed him. "If your force is as formidable as you claim."

 ** _"_** ** _You question us?! You question him?!"_** The Other was offended at that comment. **_"He who put the scepter in your hand? Who gave you ancient knowledge and new purpose when you were cast out, defeated?"_**

"I was a king!" Loki exclaimed. "The rightful king of Asgard, betrayed."

 ** _"_** ** _No doubt, you'll fare better on earth."_** The Other sarcastically commented.

"They are a lost people. They mistake selfishness for spirit. When the sky falls, it'll be every man for himself." Loki told him.

 **"** **How will you rule them?"** The Other asked.

"Unmercifully." Loki replied with a smirk.

 ** _"_** ** _Gah! Your ambition is little and born of childish need. We look beyond the earth, to the greater worlds the Tesseract will unveil."_** The Other said.

"You don't have the Tesseract yet." Loki said as the Other appeared in front of him in anger. Loki held up the spear in warning. "I don't threaten. But until I open the doors, until your force is mine to command, you are but words."

 ** _"_** ** _You will have your war, Asgardian. If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he cannot find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something sweet as pain!"_** The Other touched Loki on the head and ended the conversation.

Barton was with Dr. Selvig who was busy working on some components for the portal device as various scientists moved material he needed. "Put it over there." Selvig ordered as they did what they were told. "Where did you find all these people?"

"SHIELD has no shortage of enemies, Doctor. Is this the stuff you need?" Barton held up a tablet that had information on Dr. Heinrich Schidfer and a compound known as Iridium.

"Yeah, Iridium. It's found in meteorites. It forms anti-protons. It's very hard to get ahold of." Dr. Selvig told him.

"Especially if SHIELD knows you need it." Barton replied.

"Well, I didn't know." Selvig said as he saw Loki walk over. "Hey! The Tesseract has shown me so much. It's more than knowledge. It's truth."

"I know. It touches everyone differently. What did it show you Agent Barton?" Loki asked as Barton turned to him.

"My next target." Barton replied, causing Selvig to chuckle.

"Stick in the mud, he's got no soul. No wonder you chose this…this tomb to work in." Selvig said.

"Well, the Radisson doesn't have three levels of lead-lined flooring between SHIELD and that cube." Barton told him as Selvig conceded his point and got back to work. Loki was impressed with Barton's mind.

"I see why Fury chose you to guard it." Loki said as he and Barton walked through the tomb.

"You're gonna have to contend with him, sir. As long as he's in the air, I can't pin him down. And he'll be putting together a team." Barton told him.

"Are they a threat?" Loki asked.

"Most of the team, they'll be more of a threat to each other than us, but Fury will bring in a special person to bring the team together and he can do it. Once he does that, they can throw some serious noise our way." Barton told him as Loki was intrigued.

"Who is this special person?" Loki asked.

"Will Detmer, goes by codename Aegis. A highly trained agent who's dangerous as it is but is also a telekinetic and telepath. If he gets his sight on you, he can do some serious damage." Barton told him. Loki was more intrigued.

"Can you handle him?" Loki asked as Barton shook his head no.

"No. If it was a just a regular fight, probably but given his abilities and add the fact that I've trained him, that's a fight I would lose." Barton said. "He's our biggest obstacle and if he uses his powers on you, it won't end well."

"Interesting. I was unaware that humans possessed such abilities." Loki said.

"He's the only one. He's someone Fury was adamant he wanted working for SHIELD or else he'd be a powerful enemy." Barton told him. "Fury knows his men and Aegis is his best. He'll send him our way."

"It doesn't matter. My mind is protected." Loki said. "You admire this Will Detmer and Fury."

"He's got a clear line of sight." Barton said.

"Is that why you failed to kill him?" Loki asked as Barton stopped walking.

"It might be. I was disoriented and I'm not at my best with a gun." Barton said as Loki turned to him.

"I want to know everything you can tell me about Will Detmer and this team. I would test their mettle. I'm weary of scuttling in shadow. I mean to rule this world, not burrow in it." Loki said.

"It's a risk." Barton said as Loki smirked. "If your set on making yourself known, it could be useful."

"Tell me what you need." Loki said as Barton walked over to his weapon's case.

"I'll need a distraction." Barton grabbed his bow and unfolded it. "And an eyeball."

 **Helicarrier**

In route to the helicarrier, Coulson had picked up Captain Rogers in a quinjet. Coulson finished checking in with SHIELD command when he got up from his seat and walked over to Captain Rogers and saw him overlooking the data file on the team being assembled to deal with Loki.

"So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum they used on me?" Rogers asked Coulson as he looked over the file on Dr. Bruce Banner and the entity known as the Hulk.

"A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Dr. Banner thought that Gamma Radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula." Coulson said. Steve watched over the military feed of the Hulk incident at Culver University and he was deadly.

"It didn't go his way, did it?" Rogers asked.

"Not so much. When he's not that thing though, the guy is your regular Stephen Hawking." Coulson said as Rogers' looked at him confused. "He's like a smart person. The only other person who even comes close to you is Will."

"Right." Rogers brought up the file on Aegis. "Hard to believe the kid I met is so dangerous."

"I'm sure a lot of people would say the same thing about you when you first underwent your transformation. And it's a good thing he hasn't lost that personality because that'd be a disconcerting sign." Coulson said as Rogers looked at him. "Will is one of the most powerful enhanced individuals SHIELD has ever encountered. I helped trained him and witnessed his raw potential when he first got his powers. He's someone who's vital to the safety of this planet and we're still not sure how he got his powers."

"Really? How often does that happen?" Rogers asked.

"Not very often. With his power set he could have turned into someone very dangerous if he chose to use them for the wrong reasons. Will's an anomaly and we're just lucky he was raised with the right morals and decided to use his powers in a productive manner. He's helped and saved a lot of people with his powers even before he was made an agent. Given who his biological parents are, it's no surprise he took this path." Coulson said as Rogers looked at him.

"You know who his birth parents are?" Rogers asked.

"I've worked with his father a lot in the past. He's a good agent. As for his mother…"Coulson thought about his first interaction he and Director Fury had with her back in the 90s. "Let's just say he inherited a lot more from her than he thinks."

"Right." Rogers replied as Coulson turned away but then turned back.

"I have to say, it's an honor to meet you officially." He said, causing Steve to smile. "I've sort of met you. I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping. I mean, I was present when you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it's really just a huge honor to have you on board this."

"Well, I hope I'm the man for the job." He replied.

"Oh, you are. Absolutely. We made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input." Coulson said.

"The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little…old-fashioned?" Rogers asked.

"With everything that's happening, and the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned." Coulson pointed out.

Their quinjet soon arrived on deck at the helicarrier which was busy with activity as many agents and workers were busy with their jobs. Will and Romanoff who were still in their casual wear walked over to the quinjet to see Coulson and Steve get off and the crew taking Captain Roger's gear away.

"Agent Romanoff, Captain Rogers." Coulson introduced the two. "And of course you already know Agent Detmer."

"Ma'am. Will." Rogers greeted them as Will nodded.

"Hi. They're waiting for you on the bridge. They've started the face trace." Romanoff told him as he nodded.

"See you there." He walked inside leaving the three Avenger candidates to talk.

"It was quite the buzz around here finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?" Romanoff asked.

"Trading cards?" Steve asked.

"They're vintage. He's very proud." Romanoff said.

"And you haven't seen anything yet. Wait until you hear him talk about Lola. He's a sucker for everything vintage." Will said as they saw Dr. Banner walking around and looking at the jets and activity, a little nervous about something triggering a hulk-out.

"Dr. Banner." Steve greeted him as the two shook hands.

"Oh, yeah hi. They told me you would be coming." Dr. Banner said.

"Word is, you can find the cube." Steve said.

"Is that the only word on me?" Bruce asked.

"Only world I care about." Steve pointed out.

"It must be strange for you, all of this." Bruce pointed around at all the advance technology around him.

"Well, this is actually kind of familiar." Steve replied.

"Gentlemen, you might want to step inside in a minute. It's going to get a little hard to breathe." Romanoff said as they heard a lot of rearing and metal moving. The PA system went off telling all flight deck personnel to secure everything.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked as Banner scoffed.

"Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?" Bruce asked.

"Not exactly." Will said. Steve and Banner walked over to the edge and saw a small whirlpool formed at the edge and it was in fact a giant turbine, four in total.

"Oh no, this is much worse." Banner commented. All the flight deck personnel put on breathing masks and secured the jets to the deck as the helicarrier lifted into the air. Will, Romanoff, Steve, and Dr. Banner walked into the main command center where Director Fury and Deputy Director Hill were overseeing all the flight technicians and analysts who monitored everything on the helicarrier along with relaying information from all of SHIELD. Hill went through her usual pre-flight systems check and all the technicians went through everything and systems diagnosis was perfect. The helicarrier then lifted into the air and entered stealth mode as retro-reflective panels activated all around and camouflaged the entire carrier like it wasn't even there. Steve walked around in wonder while Dr. Banner kept to himself and just wanted this whole thing to be over.

Will walked over to Steve who was amazed at what he saw. "Never gets old, does it?" He asked as Steve nodded. Fury looked over and saw them.

"Gentlemen." Fury walked over as Steve reached into his wallet, took out ten bucks and gave it to him. Steve walked around and Fury walked over to Dr. Banner. "Dr. Banner, thank you for coming."

"Thank you for asking nicely and sending someone who thought like a human being instead of a trained agent." Banner said as Fury nodded. "So, how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind." Fury told him.

"Where are you with that?" Banner asked as Fury pointed to Coulson.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops, ATM, and traffic cameras. If it's connected to a satellite or wireless signal, it's eyes and ears for us." Coulson said as Romanoff looked at some of the images.

"That's still not going to find them in time." Romanoff said.

"She's right. Barton knows how we operate and think. He'll prepare for every which way we can try to find him." Will added.

"You have to narrow your field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?" Banner asked.

"How many are there?" Fury replied.

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places." Banner suggested as Fury nodded. "Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, could you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please?" Fury asked as Romanoff nodded and walked over to him.

"You're gonna love it, Doc. We've got all the toys." Romanoff said and led him to his lab.

Fury walked over to Hill who was at her station busy at work. "Agent Hill, did you tell the council that Barton had been compromised?" Fury asked.

"Was that not procedure?" Hill asked as Fury didn't answer and just walked away. "Did you tell them who exactly was on your response team?"

"I did. And I even informed them of my special recruit, whose identity I hope you haven't divulged." Fury said.

"Of course not, sir. Level 10 clearance as always." Hill replied as Fury did a subtle nod. "Is there anything else you're worried I told them?"

"Do I need to be?" Fury asked as he walked away, and Hill just gave him a look.

Will went to one of the analysts and had him confirm some things such as Dr. Jane Foster being moved and under watch by SHIELD agents along with his family. When Dr. Selvig was taken, they had Jane Foster taken away for her safety incase Loki went after her. Once Will learned Barton was taken, he had some agents watch over his family with a team monitoring his uncle, aunt, and cousin Kim in Brooklyn. His uncle Jeffry Mace was on assignment in London, so Will got in touch with a London based agent who owed him a favor to watch over him for a while.

Once that was done, Will went to pay Dr. Banner a visit in the lab and see if he could help. He walked in with a coffee pot and mug and saw Dr. Banner busy at the computer working on the tracking algorithm. "Agent Detmer, have you come to watch over me?" Dr. Banner asked. "Did Fury send you to make sure I wasn't doing anything I wasn't supposed to?"

"No, I came over to see if I could help. I know a thing or two about this stuff, so I figured I'd offer my help or at least offer some coffee." Will walked over and placed the coffee pot down on a table and saw Dr. Banner's algorithm countering for the radioactive decay energy range interference the Tesseract was likely putting out. "And please, call me Will."

"Do you know anything about Gamma radiation?" Dr. Banner asked.

"Enough to know that you're adjusting gamma radiation's typical 8 MeV energy level to counter for the fact that the Tesseract outputs other forms of energy and omitting other natural outputs of gamma radiation to make the search much easier." Will said as Dr. Banner looked at him. "I'm a man of many talents."

"I'm impressed." Dr. Banner said as he took a cup of coffee. "And I appreciate the coffee but there's not much else I need help with until I get more information on the Tesseract."

"I'll see what I can do about that." Will left to go speak with Coulson and Fury about possibly getting Dr. Banner more information. He walked in to see everyone at work and Coulson next to Steve Rogers as the two were engaged in a conversation.

"I mean, if it's not too much trouble." Coulson said to Steve.

"No, no it's fine." He replied as Coulson nodded.

"It's a vintage set. It took me a couple of years to collect them all. Near mint. Slight foxing around the edges, but other then that it's perfect." Coulson said as Will walked over to him.

"Coulson, I just spoke with Dr. Banner and he's working on the tracking algorithm but some more information on the Tesseract might speed things up." He told him as Coulson thought about it.

"I'll talk to Director Fury and see what he thinks." Coulson responded.

"We've got a hit. A 67% match." Agent Sitwell spoke as Coulson walked over and Fury checked the computers to see the information. "Wait, cross match 79%."

"Location?" Coulson asked.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28 Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding." Sitwell said.

"Captain, Agent Detmer." Will and Steve turned to Director Fury. "You're up."

They both nodded in response. "See you at the Quinjet." Will said as they left to get changed. Will tapped his ear comm to contact Romanoff. "Romanoff, we got a hit. Get a quinjet."

 _"_ _I'm on it. See you in ten minutes."_ She replied as Will went to his designated quarters where his suit was waiting for him. He switched his boots and pants and strapped his flechette bands around his ankles. He put on an undershirt before putting on his combat Vibranium jacket and zipped it up. He secured his retractable mask around his collar before putting his belt and thigh holster on. He checked over his HK pistol and holstered it before strapping his pellet holsters around his shoulders and slipping on his battle gloves and forearm guards. He clenched his right fist and his twin Vibranium blades shot out with a distinct hum and the reflective shine of metal glistened his face. He retracted the blades and activated his left gauntlet, synching up his computer and deploying his arm shield. He retracted it back into place and put the rest of his weapons in his belt which consisted of his Predator Combi stick, his two Predator Shurikens, the Predator knife, the four laser net devices, and his two Vibranium orbs.

He left his quarters and made his way over to the quinjet to see Romanoff and the pilot doing a pre-flight check and Steve dressed in his new uniform. His new uniform was decked out with the old red, white, and blue with a star symbol on the chest and wing-tips on his helmet with his signature Vibranium shield. "New suit." Will said as Steve nodded, looking at the suit he was wearing.

"Yeah." Steve said as Will nodded.

"Not bad. A little old school but it's got a classic look to it." Will said as he hit ramp button and the cargo ramp of the quinjet retracted. "Let's go!" Romanoff nodded as the pilot took off and they flew to Germany as fast as they could. "So, Cap, you ready to fight the Asgardian god of mischief and stop an alien invasion?"

"What do you mean alien invasion?" Steve asked as Will realized what he said.

"Spoiler alert. I'll tell you later." Will replied.

 **Stuttgart, Germany**

Loki dressed himself in some human attire and morphed his scepter into the form of a walking stick to blend in with the humans. He was at a Gala event that a wealthy scientist was hosting for charity. While he was at the event, Barton led the group of mercenaries to the research lab of said scientist and killed all the guards. Loki walked through the gala hall, strutting his stuff like he owned the place and made his way over to the scientist. He smacked one of the guards in the face with his scepter before grabbing the scientist by the neck and slamming him onto a table. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small rod, pressing a button to activate a set of spinning razor blades and a high-tech scanner. He then dug the rod into the scientist's right eye, scoping it out and sending the digital copy to Barton's version so he could get past the retina scanner at the lab. The crowd fled in shock and terror as they ran out of the gala as fast as they could. Loki smirked with glee at the panic and fear on the humans' faces when they rushed out of the gala building. Once he finished with the scientists, he walked out of the gala building and used his magic to shift into his Asgardian royal garb including his helmet and his small scepter morphed into a long spear.

Loki walked out onto the street as the fleeing gala guests began to blend in with tourists and bystanders at the square who were wondering what was happening. A police car arrived and sped towards Loki but he fired an energy blast from his scepter, causing the car to crash. Three illusions of Loki appeared around the crowd and boxed them in.

"Kneel before me!" Loki shouted as the crowed backed away in fear. "I said…KNEEL!"

The crowd got down on one knee like they were loyal subjects to a king and Loki chuckled in glee. "Is not this simpler? Is this not your natural state?" Loki asked the crowd as he walked among them. "It's the unspoken truth of humanity, that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

A brave old man stood up and looked at Loki. "Not to men like you." He said to the god of mischief as Loki chuckled.

"There are no men like me." Loki responded.

"There are always men like you." The man replied.

"Look to your elder people. Let him be an example." Loki aimed his scepter as the glowing energy core powered up and fired a blast but it hit something and was reflected back and knocked Loki to the ground. Loki and the crowd looked to see the thing that reflected the energy blast was the red, white, and blue shield of Captain America, standing there in his new suit.

"You know the last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everyone else…we ended up disagreeing on a lot of things." Cap said.

"The soldier, a man out of time." Loki spoke as he got back to his feet.

 **"** **He's not the one who's out of time."** Loki turned to the side and saw Aegis standing there in the crowd in full gear and face mask with his pistol pointed straight at his head.

"And there is the psychic. I've heard…interesting things from your comrade." Loki said, intentionally trying to get under his skin but Will didn't let it get to him.

 **"** **And I know all I need to know about you just by looking at your face. Now drop the weapon or get put down!"** Aegis ordered as the quinjet flew by and hovered into position.

Romanoff was in the gunner seat and took aim at Loki with the minigun attached underneath the cockpit. "Loki, drop the weapon and put your hands on your head!" She ordered as he smirked and fired an energy blast at the quinjet which the pilot was able to maneuver to avoid.

The crowd got to their feet and ran away as Cap threw his shield and hit Loki in the chest then closed the distance as the shield bounced back to his hand. Aegis would have pulled the trigger but didn't want to risk hitting a civilian, so he holstered his gun and ran forward. Cap punched Loki in the face but he quickly rebounded and smacked Cap in the gut with his scepter, knocking him back. Aegis threw two of his flechettes at Loki and hit him in the face, forcing him to close in eyes in reflex so Aegis jumped forward and slugged Loki across the face with a punch and then leaned back and did a back-hand spring to avoid the scepter.

Cap threw his shield again but Loki knocked it to the ground. Cap closed the distance and punched Loki in the side, then ducked under the scepter as Aegis ran forward and did a drop kick, knocking Loki away. He used his telekinesis to pull Cap's shield back to his hand.

 **"** **You go low I go high."** Aegis said as Cap nodded and the two super soldiers charged at the god of mischief. Aegis threw out one of his shuriken which forced Loki to duck and leave him open to a shield bash from Cap. The shield bash forced him back as Aegis jumped forward, unsheathed his Vibranium forearm blades and slashed at Loki's head, scratching his helmet and nicking his face but doing no visible damage. Loki swung his scepter at Cap who dodged it and kicked out his leg as Aegis slashed him across the face and knocked him back. Cap punched Loki in the stomach as Aegis kicked out his other leg so Cap kneed him in the chest and Aegis punched his arm away while both ducked or blocked the scepter. The shuriken flew back around like a boomerang and slashed Loki's garb, slicing up his clothing and nicking his skin and making a small scratch on his arm. Aegis caught the shuriken and Loki saw the small wound on his arm.

 **"** **Guess the God of Mischief isn't so mighty after all."** Aegis taunted as Loki growled and fired another energy bolt that the two super soldiers avoided.

Romanoff watched the two super soldiers fight Loki hand-to-hand and working very well together in unison with one going high and the other going low. One blocked for the other while the other kept up the pressure on Loki. Cap would throw his shield to hit Loki and it bounced off so Aegis caught it and attacked, then threw it at Loki and it bounced off back to Cap's hand. "They're all over the place." She said to herself as she couldn't get a clear shot when she began to hear music and some audio feed come over the comms.

 ** _"_** ** _Agent Romanoff, you miss me?"_** A familiar voice spoke over the comms as the loud speaker began to play _Shoot to Thrill_ by AC/DC and she immediately knew who it was.

Cap looked up and saw something flying in close as did Loki. Aegis knew who it was and capitalized on Loki's distraction, disarming him and knocking the scepter away. He kicked out Loki's leg, grabbed his arm and threw him up into the air as two beams of energy hit Loki. The impact knocked Loki through the air and he hit the ground hard. A metal figure landed on the ground in a crouch and Aegis and Cap saw Iron Man had arrived. Iron Man aimed his repulsor, mini-rocket, shoulder cannons, and explosive wrist launcher at Loki.

 ** _"_** ** _Make your move, Reindeer Games."_** Iron Man taunted him as Cap and Aegis joined him. Aegis aimed his gun at Loki's left eye and was ready to put a bullet in it. Loki then raised his hands to surrender as his garb and armor disappeared. **_"Good move."_**

"Mr. Stark." Cap greeted him.

 ** _"_** ** _Captain."_** Iron Man replied back. **_"Thanks for the setup, kid."_**

 **"** **Happy for the team up. What took you so long?"** Aegis asked.

 ** _"_** ** _Hit a little turbulence in England."_** Iron Man replied.

Will took one of his Vibranium Orbs and morphed it into large metal bands to handcuff Loki so he couldn't escape. He may be a Norse God but he's not breaking free of Vibranium handcuffs. He and Cap dragged him onto the quinjet, strapped him down to a seat and secured the scepter into a containment box. Another SHIELD team secured everything in Germany while Aegis, Captain America, and Black Widow transported Loki back to the Helicarrier with Iron Man coming with.

Will retracted his mask and sat across from Loki and attempted to read his mind to figure out where Barton was and the Tesseract location…but found out he couldn't. He had been trying ever since they brought Loki on the quinjet but got nothing. This has never happened to him before. He's been able to read the mind of anyone he's come across if he tried. It came in handy when he was on missions and needed Intel, but this is the first time he couldn't read anything…just nothing…emptiness which either meant that Loki was really dumb and had no brain or he was blocking him somehow. He had the key for the door but the lock wouldn't budge.

"Having trouble?" Will opened his eyes and saw Loki smirking at him. Will closed his eyes and concentrated harder but still got nothing. "I'm aware of an expression you humans use…if at first you don't succeed, give up."

"Wow, I'm amazed at your understanding of common phrases, Mr. Mask." Will joked as Loki gave him a puzzled look. "It was a movie about…you know what, never mind."

Will tried again but still got nothing…there was some kind of wall built around Loki's mind that was keeping him from breaching it. "Your abilities may be impressive for a human, but you're not the first telepath I've encountered. And your skills with the mind are nothing to a god, mortal." Loki taunted as Will just smirked and stood up.

"Good to know. By the way, who won that fight?" Will quipped as he walked over to Romanoff who was speaking to Fury.

 _"_ _Is he saying anything?"_ Fury asked.

"Only taunts to Will." Romanoff replied as she saw Will walk over and he motioned for her headset, so she took it off and gave it to him.

"Director." Will answered. "Go secure."

 _"_ _Secure link established. Give me a sit-rep."_ Fury ordered.

"Loki's not going anywhere but I think he's got something up his sleeve. I've spent the last twenty minutes trying to read his mind and got nothing." Will said. Romanoff perked up when she heard him say that.

 _"_ _Meaning your power doesn't affect him?"_ Fury asked.

"Meaning he's blocking me somehow. He's got some kind of mental barrier around his mind that's keeping me from reading him." Will said as Fury didn't respond for a few seconds.

 _"_ _How is that possible?"_ Fury asked.

"I'm not sure. Loki's aware of my ability and he's dealt with people like me before, probably other Asgardians so when Barton told him of me he was prepared. He probably knows more about my ability then I do." Will responded. "I'll need more time and a secure area to attempt to break through that barrier. I'll attempt again when we arrive."

 _"_ _Keep your eyes on him and get him here. We're low on time."_ Fury said.

"Roger that." Will ended the transmission and handed the headset back to Romanoff before walking over to Steve and Tony.

"Everything ok, kid?" Tony asked, but he just shook his head no.

"No. Mr. Sparkling-Personality over there is immune to my telepathy." Will said as Tony and Steve spared a glance at Loki. "Normally, I'd be able to read his mind, find the Tesseract and this whole thing would be over in time for dinner but he's blocking me somehow and it freaks me out."

"Do you think you can break through?" Steve asked and Will gave him a shrug.

"More time and effort and I might be able to break through…but this whole thing bothers me." Will said as Steve agreed.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Loki. This whole coming out at that gala where he knew we would find him and then giving up. What the hell for?" Will asked. "Even with the two of us, that fight was pretty dead even, but I've read over the reports of what happened at Project Pegasus. He could have done a lot worse."

"Will's right. This guy packs a wallop so why would he give up so easily?" Steve asked.

"Still, you're pretty spry for an older fellow." Tony said as Steve looked at him. "What's your thing, Pilates?"

"What?" Steve asked.

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things, you know doing time as a Capsicle." Tony said.

"Fury didn't say he was bringing you in." Steve said.

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Tony said as Will nodded.

"That's the truth." Will said as Steve looked at him. "Fury knows more about my birth mother than he's letting on. The file he gave me was sparse at best meaning he adjusted it on purpose."

"Have you tried reading his mind?" Tony asked.

"Fury has specialized electronic interference bugs placed under his ears. That along with the earbud he always wears screws with my telepathy. All I get is static." Will said which surprised Tony. He didn't think the kid's telepathy could be interfered like that. "Fury's hiding something about my birth mother from me."

Before Will could go on a small tirade, a large boom of thunder and bolt of lightning flared up out of nowhere. "Where's this coming from?" Romanoff asked as she checked the scanner and it showed the weather was clear a few minutes ago. Steve looked and saw Loki was startled by the lightning.

"What's the matter? Are you scared of a little lightning?" Steve asked.

"I'm not overly fond of what comes next." Loki told him.

The lightning and thunder storm flared up again as Will's danger sense went off with a slight tingle. Nothing intense like he was in immediate danger, only a slight tingle which meant something was coming.

"Something's coming." Will said and a few seconds later, the quinjet shook because something landed on the ceiling. Will pulled up his hood and activated his mask as Tony and Steve put their helmets back on. Tony walked over and hit the ramp control button causing the ramp to open up while the quinjet was flying. A blonde haired man in silver armor and red cape landed on the ramp with a large hammer in his hand. Tony raised his repulsor but before he could fire a blast, the man bashed Tony with his hammer and sent him crashing into Aegis and Captain America. The man grabbed Loki, ripped him up from the seat, grabbed him by the neck and flew out of the quinjet hammer first.

Tony got off of Captain America and Aegis as Edi finished running a facial recognition program on their mystery guest and it came back as Thor, Loki's brother that Coulson encountered in New Mexico and was supposed to be a protector of Earth.

 ** _"_** ** _And now there's that guy."_** Iron Man said.

"Another Asgardian?" Romanoff asked.

 **"** **That's Thor. He's a friendly!"** Aegis shouted.

"Doesn't feel like it. If he frees Loki or kills him then the Tesseract's lost." Iron Man replied as he walked over to the ramp.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Captain America told him.

 ** _"_** ** _I have a plan, attack."_** Iron Man flew out of the quinjet and disappeared into the night sky.

 **"** **Great."** Aegis growled. He ran forward and jumped out of the quinjet before nose diving straight to the ground, using his powers to fly through the sky.

Steve grabbed a parachute and strapped it to his back. "I'd sit this one out, Cap." Romanoff told him.

"Don't see how I can do that." He replied.

"These guys come from legend, they're basically gods." Romanoff told him.

"There's only one god, Ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that." The Captain grabbed his shield and dove out of the quinjet like Aegis did.

Thor flew to the peak of a small mountain and threw Loki to the ground before landing with a loud thud and small impact crater. Loki groaned in pain for a moment before laughing and pushing himself up to his feet with his bound hands.

"Where is the Tesseract?" Thor asked but Loki just chuckled.

"Oh, I missed you too." Loki snickered.

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?!" Thor shouted at him, not happy.

"Oh, you should actually thank me. With the Bifrost gone, how much Dark energy did the All-father have to summon to conjure you here? You're precious earth." Loki said as Thor dropped his hammer with a loud thud and grabbed Loki by the neck.

"I thought you dead." Thor said to his brother.

"Did you mourn?" Loki was curious if he did, given their relationship.

"We all did. Our father—""You're father." Loki stopped him from finishing that sentence. "He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?"

Loki stepped away from Thor and walked along the small peak they were on and tried to rip the cuffs around his hands but didn't have the strength. "We were raised together, we played together, we fought together: do you remember none of that?!" Thor asked.

"I remember a shadow…living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss. I am and should be king!" Loki shouted at him.

"So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights?" Thor walked over to Loki to make his point. "No, the earth is under my protection, Loki."

That statement made Loki laugh at his naivety. "And you're doing a marvelous job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly threat. I mean to rule them, and why should I not?"

"You think yourselves above them?" Thor asked as Loki looked at him funny.

"Well, yes." Loki was quick to reply.

"Then you missed the truth of ruling, brother. A throne would suit you ill." Thor said as Loki growled and pushed him away. He walked over to the edge of the peak to make his statement more dramatic.

"I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown, Odinson, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it—""Who showed you this power?" Thor asked, wanting to know who has been helping Loki. "Who controls the would-be king?!

"I AM A KING!" Loki shouted as Thor grabbed him.

"Not here! You give up the Tesseract, you give up this poisonous dream! You come home." Thor begged his brother to see reason.

"I don't have it." Loki said. Thor growled and summoned Mjolnir to his hand. "You need to the cube to send me home but I've sent it off I know not where."

"You listen well, brother…I **[THUD]"** Thor was cut off as Iron Man tackled him off the mountain peak.

"I'm listening." Loki joked.

Iron Man had tackled Thor from the mountain peak and flew them to the bottom of the mountain. He threw Thor to the ground and landed in a crouch as Thor bounced and skid across the dirt and quickly got to his feet to see the metal man standing there in front of him. His mask open up to reveal he was human.

"Do not touch me again." Thor warned him.

"Then don't take my stuff." Tony warned back.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with." Thor warned him as Tony looked around.

"Uh, Shakespeare in the park? Doth mother know you wear-eth her drapes?" Tony joked, but Thor wasn't amused.

"This is beyond you, metal man. Loki will face Asgardian justice." Thor told him.

"He gives up the cube he's all yours. Until then…" Tony's mask came down in place. **_"…stay out of the way. Ugh, tourists."_**

Thor growled in anger and threw Mjolnir at Iron Man. The mystical hammer hit Tony like a truck and smashed him through a tree and knocked him to the ground. Tony froze a bit as Jarvis reported structural damage to his armor's chest plate.

 ** _"_** ** _Ok."_** Iron Man was ready for some payback. Thor summoned Mjolnir back to his hands and saw the metal man slowly get up. He grabbed the leather handle and began rapidly spinning his hammer when a surprise repulsor blast knocked him into a tree. Iron Man flew forward and kicked him through the tree and knocked him to the ground. Thor got back to his feet and raised his hammer as a crack of thunder was heard and a bolt of lightning was summoned from the sky right into the hammer.

Thor then aimed his hammer at Iron Man and fired the bolt of lightning at him, zapping him with immense energy. The light and heat of the lightning bolt scorched parts of his chest armor and the impact forced him to take a few steps back. Tony's HUD was on the fritz from the sudden influx of energy and bright light but soon normalized.

 _"_ _Power at 400% capacity."_ Jarvis reported and Tony was pleasantly surprised.

 ** _"_** ** _How about that."_** Iron Man fired his two repulsors and uni-beam at Thor and the impact knocked him away. Thor landed on his feet in a growl as Iron Man got himself ready. They both flew towards one another as the thrusters on Iron Man gave him the extra momentum to win the clash. He punched him the in face a few times as the two nearly crashed into a mountain and began skidding up the side of it. Thor got one of his hands free and elbowed Iron Man in the face before running up the mountain and pushing off, sending them flying back to the forest. They exchanged blows mid-air and crashed through a tree and hit the ground in a plume of dirt.

They quickly got back to their feet as Thor slugged Iron Man across the face, making a small dent in his armor. Iron Man quickly threw out a punch, but Thor caught his arm, so he threw out his other fist only for Thor to grab it as well. Thor began squeezing as his god-like strength bent and crushed the metal on Tony's forearm and Jarvis alerted him of the damage he was taking so he had to do something. He opened his palm and fired a repulsor blast point blank in Thor's face, dazing him and then headbutting him back but Thor quickly responded with a headbutt of his own and knocked Iron Man backwards into a roll. Iron Man rolled back to his feet and flew forward, grabbed Thor by the cape and threw him into a tree.

Thor quickly got back up and charged at Iron Man, dodging a punch to the face, and landing a punch of his own to Iron Man's side. He then landed a hammer fist to Iron Man's back, grabbed him by the back and slammed him onto the ground. He called Mjolnir back to his hand and brought it down to squish his adversary, but Iron Man activated his thrusters and flew out of the way at the last second. He turned around in the air and hit Thor in the face with a flying punch but before the two could continue their fight, a metal object hit them both.

"HEY!" They heard as the metal object hit them both and ricocheted back to Captain America who was standing on the trunk of a broken tree. "That's enough!"

The Captain jumped down from the tree and walked up to the two. "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here."

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor said.

"Then prove it. Put that hammer down." Captain America told him.

 ** _"_** ** _Uh, yeah no. Bad call. He loves his hammer- "_** Iron Man was cut off as Thor smashed him away.

"You want me to put the hammer down?!" Thor shouted. He jumped forward and raised his hammer to strike the Captain who raised his shield to block it. Just before Mjolnir hit the shield, Thor was frozen in place, floating in the air and found he couldn't move. "What magic is this?!"

 **"** **No magic."** They heard as he and the Captain looked up to see Aegis floating in the air and hover down to the ground. He raised his left hand and Loki floated down from the sky, his hands still bound in Vibranium and looks like he got a new bruise on his face. " **Just a unique set of powers. Are you three done with your little pissing contest so we can focus on the real problem that involves the green-clad egomaniac?"**

"Oh, why did you stop the fighting? Let them continue attacking each other like rapid dogs—MFFFT" Loki was cut off as Aegis used his telekinesis and threw Loki against a tree. He then used his other Vibranium orb and encased Loki's whole body with it so he couldn't move and for an extra measure, used it to cover his mouth so he couldn't talk.

 **"** **That's enough out of you, Hamlet."** Aegis said. He lowered Thor to the ground and released his telekinetic hold. **"Thor, there's no need for us to fight. We're on the same side. I work for SHIELD. You met Agent Coulson."**

"Ah, yes, Son of Coul. He worked for the SHIELD." Thor told him as Aegis deactivated his mask so Thor could see he was human. "You work for SHIELD?"

"I do as does the Captain. We want the same thing: to stop Loki from using the Tesseract to conquer the planet. We'll waste more time arguing amongst ourselves and that only helps Loki and his plans. Come with us to the SHIELD Helicarrier. We'll detain Loki, and once we find the Tesseract, you can take him back to Asgard." Will said and he held his hand towards Thor.

"You spoke the hard truth, agent of SHIELD and you hold yourself like a noble warrior. Agreed." Thor shook his hand and they gained new ally.

"Call me Will or Aegis." Will said as he pressed a button his forearm computer to call Romanoff. "Romanoff, come pick us up. I have Loki and we have a new ally."

Line Break xxxxx

 **Helicarrier**

Once they arrived at the Helicarrier, Will marched Loki inside where Director Fury and a whole squad of heavily armed SHIELD agents were waiting for him. He removed the Vibranium restraints and marched Loki through the Helicarrier to the secured cell they had waiting for Loki. As they walked through the hall, they passed by Dr. Banner's lab and Loki gave him a mischievous glance before Will pushed him forward and kept him moving. They arrived in Loki's prison cell which was a large circular glass and metal cell. Will moved Loki into his cell and Fury locked it into place, securing the Asgardian god of mischief. The SHIELD Team left leaving just Will and Director Fury. Loki looked at his cell and began contemplating his escape.

"Incase it's unclear. If you try to escape or so much as scratch that glass…" Fury pressed a few buttons on a console and the airlock underneath Loki's cell opened up to reveal why the cell didn't seem so secure because if he tried to escape, he'd get ejected right out of the ship and fall to his death. "30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works?"

Fury pressed another button and the airlock closed back up. "Ant…" Fury pointed at him and then the console. "Boot."

Loki chuckled at Fury's threat. "It's an impressive cage. Not built I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury told him.

"Oh, I've heard." Loki looked at the security camera in his cell, knowing full well that Dr. Banner and the others were watching. "The mindless beast who makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you that you'd call on such lost souls to defend you?"

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war, you steal a force you can't hope to control, you talk about peace and you kill because it's fun…you have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." Fury warned him.

"Oh…it burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power…unlimited power and for what? A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is." Loki told him as Fury didn't spare him a glance and walked over to Will.

"You want to know what real power is…he'll show you." Fury pointed to Will and leaned in to whisper. "Get in his head and get me intel."

"Yes, sir." Will replied and Fury left.

"Let me know if the god of mischief want's a magazine or something." Fury said..

Loki looked at Will with a smirk and began laughing. "Oh, this will be enjoyable to watch your feeble attempts to break me. Well go on, Aegis…break me." Loki taunted him as Will closed his eyes and concentrated, drawing on all the training he's done with his telepathy to break through Loki's mental barriers.

He extended his arm and held his hand towards Loki as his body began to glow blue, signifying he was using more than a typical amount of power. Loki continued to chuckle in amusement until he began to get a tingling in his head. "Give up this petty parlor tricks, human. You're nothing to a god." Loki laughed off his attempts but Will continued and the tingling got more frequent.

"Tell me what you know." Will said. He began to glow brighter and the tingling in Loki's head got more intense. Loki clutched his head slightly and his breathing hitched as he began to feel the strain of keeping his mental barrier strong against the human's telepathy bombardment.

"Nothing good comes from this folly. Give up now and I'll be merciful." Loki warned him as the attack on his mind was getting more intense. "I mean it! Give up now, human!"

"Tell me what you know!" Will turned his head slightly and drew on more of his power. Loki struggled to maintain his mental barrier against this powerful assault. It was unlike anything he had encountered before.

"Stop this! Stop it!" Loki shouted. Will opened his eyes and they were glowing blue.

 ** _"_** ** _Tell me what you know!"_** Will had used his telepathy to speak aloud and soon, he broke through Loki's mental barrier and entered his mind. He began looking through Loki's memories of his past with Thor and his relationship with his adopted family. Dysfunctional was an understatement and the amount of baggage that he had would keep an entire team of psychologists busy for the rest of their lives.

He then began to see the set of memories of Thor's exile, Loki's temporary ascension to the throne of Asgard, him sending the Destroyer to kill Thor and his presumed death when he met some creature known as the Other who was the liaison for someone named…Thanos. He was the purple alien Will saw in his vision with the Chitauri when this whole thing started, and he gave Loki the scepter. He promised Loki the Earth if he gave him the Tesseract and Loki needed the Tesseract to open a portal for the army to invade. Will tried to figure out where it was but Loki either didn't know or removed that piece of information from his mind before he put the barrier up as a safeguard. The last memory before Loki went to Germany was the interaction between him and the Other and Loki speaking to Barton about what Dr. Selvig needed for the portal device.

Will stopped his telepathic invasion of Loki's mind and his body and eyes stopped glowing. He looked and saw Loki down on one knee, clutching his head in pain. Loki looked up and glared at Will with soul-searing hatred. "You have no idea what pain you've wrought on yourself, mortal. I will destroy your world with fire and brimstone. The Chitauri will topple your monuments and slaughter your kind. Many of them shall die merciful and quick deaths but I shall ensure that yours is long, painful, and excruciating. I will find your loved one and you will watch as I bury my blade in their—" Loki was cut off as Will used his telekinesis to fling Loki up and bash him into the ceiling of his cell. The locks of the cells shook a bit as Loki hit the ground face first.

"Honestly just listening to you is exhausting. Thor must really have the patience of a god to have grown up with you." Will turned around and left.

Dr. Banner, Romanoff, Rogers, Coulson, Tony, Thor, and Deputy Director Hill were standing around the large conference-like table and had watched the entire ordeal on the camera footage.

"I didn't think he could actually do it." Romanoff said.

"I did." Tony said as he walked around the table and passed Thor. "No hard feelings Point Break, you've got a mean swing." Tony pat Thor on the shoulder and leaned against the railing by Fury's monitor. "I know the kid well enough to know that something like this, he wouldn't have given up. Loki met his match. I'm just glad he's on our side."

"Aren't we all. Will is going to be instrumental in this." Coulson said.

"But instrumental in what? What's Loki's plan?" Hill asked.

"An invasion." They heard as Will walked in from the hallway. He walked over to Tony who smiled and pat him on the back. "Loki's whole plan with the Tesseract is an invasion of earth."

"With what army?" Coulson asked.

"Let me show you." Will walked over to the table and closed his eyes, concentrating and soon a flickering blue image appeared on the table like a hologram. Everyone was shocked as they looked at Will and saw he was doing this. The image showed the army of Chitauri he saw in his vision and he took from Loki's head and it showed a lot of them. It then showed an image of the Other and a brief glimpse of a purple alien before cutting out. Will's breathing hitched as he staggered on his feet, clutched the table for support and grabbed his head in pain. "Argh!"

Thor got to this side and stabilized him. "I'm all right." Will stood up and shook his head. "I've never really done that a lot so it's still new. He has an army called the Chitauri. They were promised to Loki by someone very powerful and very dangerous. Loki's been promised the army and will use it to conquer the planet but first he needs to use the Tesseract to open a portal to lead them to here. When they win him the earth, the Tesseract is there's."

"Heimdall found out similar information. William is right." Thor supported his report.

"An army…from outer space." Steve said.

"So, I was right, Loki is building another portal. It's what he needs Eric Selvig for." Banner said.

"Selvig?" Thor asked.

"He's an astrophysicist." Banner told him.

"He's a friend." Thor added.

"Loki has him under some kind of mind control…along with one of our one." Romanoff said.

"I want to know why Loki let us take him? I mean, he's not leading an army from here?" Steve asked.

"I don't think we should focus on Loki. I mean you saw him. That guy's brain is like a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him." Banner told him.

"Have care how you speak. Loki may be beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he is my brother." Thor warned him.

"He killed 80 people in 2 days." Romanoff said.

"He's adopted." Thor replied.

"I'm not sure why he let us take him. Loki's mind at the moment he came to earth is…scrambled. A lot of memories were missing like he didn't want me to see anything." Will told them.

"Can you even do that?" Steve asked.

"Loki's mental abilities are among the best in Asgard. It was often the source of many childhood pranks when he was younger. If he adjusted his memory, then there were memories you weren't meant to see." Thor told Will.

"That makes sense. Barton told Loki about my abilities and it's why he prepared his brain with mental barriers. But one of the last memories I was able to see was Selvig had Barton break into a lab in Germany for Iridium." Will said.

"Yes, back to the mechanics. What do they need the Iridium for?" Banner asked aloud to the group.

"It's a stabilizing agent. It a means so the portal won't collapse in on itself like it did at SHIELD. Also, it means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants." Tony said as he walked around to the little podium-computer display Fury used. "Raise the mizzenmast. Jib the top sails."

All of the shield analysts and engineers looked at Tony in confusion. "That man is playing Galaga!" Tony pointed to an engineer in a corner and Will shook his head and chuckled. "He thought we wouldn't notice, but we did." Tony put one hand over his eyes and looked at the monitors. "How does Fury even see these?"

"He turns." Hill told him.

"Sounds exhausting. The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. The only major component he still needs is a power source…" Tony messed with Fury's computers and subtlety placed an electronic bug on one of the computers and it began hacking into the files. "…of high energy density. Something to kick-start the Cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Hill asked.

"Last night." Tony said as Hill gave him a look. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the extraction theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?" Tony looked at everyone as Will raised his hand.

"Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?" Steve asked as Dr. Banner did some quick calculations in his head.

"He would have to head the Cube to 120-million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb Barrier." Banner stated.

"Unless Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect." Tony added.

"Well, if he did that, he could achieve heavy Ion fusion at any reactor on the planet." Banner finished.

"Finally, someone who speaks English." Tony said as Steve just gave them a look.

"Is that what just happened?" He asked.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green-rage monster." Tony said as Banner just sighed.

'Thanks." He replied when Director Fury walked into the room.

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him." Fury said.

"Loki gave direct orders to Selvig that once Barton obtained the Iridium that he was to pack up and leave to another secure location to activate the portal. Unfortunately, I don't know where that it but they're mobile and we know they'll need a serious power source so that should narrow down locations." Will said.

"I'd start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon." Steve said.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube." Fury said but Will shook his head no.

"I don't think so, Director." Will said as Fury looked at him. "It may have similar affects but I think that thing is something else entirely."

"What do you mean?" Hill asked.

"I'm not sure but the staff was given to Loki by the being who promised him the army. For all we know, it could have properties we know nothing about and just be another dangerous object. Permission to join Tony and Dr. Banner in analyzing it?" Will asked.

"Granted. Get to the bottom of this and figure out how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury ordered.

"Monkeys? I don't understand—""I do." Steve quickly spoke. "I understood that reference."

"Shall we play, Doctor?" Tony asked.

"This way." Bruce led Tony and Will to his lab where the Scepter was brought and they quickly got to work on analyzing every single inch of it. They hook it to up scanners and Dr. Banner went over the device with spectrometer/Geiger counter and began getting low-level Gamma radiation like the Tesseract. "The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports of the Tesseract."

"Crystalline structure of the gem is common enough in carbon elements…but there are elements that are foreign to the periodic table." Will looked over the data on the monitor and began running a sonic resonance scan to try and get an internal image of the crystal. "Other energy signature in the crystal like the Tesseract but there seems to be one that wasn't in Selvig's report."

"That might the key to figuring out what this thing is but with the mainframe here it'll take weeks to process." Banner said.

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster we can clock this at around 600 teraflops." Tony said as he set up his own connection to the STARK server to speed this up.

"Heh, and all I packed was a toothbrush." Banner said.

"You know, you should come by STARK Tower sometime. Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it. It's a Candy Land." Tony said to Banner as he grabbed an electrical tool.

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of broke…Harlem." Banner said.

"Well, I promise a stress free environment. No tension, no surprises." Tony then zapped Banner in the side.

"Ow!" Banner shouted in reflex as Tony looked at his eyes to see if they turned green.

"Seriously, Tony?" Will shook his head and got back to work.

"Hey! Are you nuts?" Steve asked as he walked into the lab.

"Jury's out. You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?" Tony asked.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve asked Stark.

"Funny things are." Tony replied.

"Threatening of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, Doc." Steve said to Dr. Banner.

"No, it's all right. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things." Banner said causing Tony to chuckle.

"You're tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut." Tony walked over to his bag and took out a bag of blueberries.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark." Steve told him.

"Do you think I'm not? Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equations unless I have all the variables." Tony told him.

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Steve asked.

"He's a spy. Captain, he's _the_ spy. His secrets have secrets." Tony said as he ate a blueberry. "It's bugging them too."

"Uh…I just want to finish my work here, and—""Doctor?" Steve urged him to speak his mind. Banner took a breath and removed his glasses.

"A warm light for all mankind. Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube." Banner said.

"I heard it." Steve said.

"Well, I think that was meant for you." Banner said to Tony who offered him some blueberries so he took a few. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"The Stark Tower? That big, ugly…" Steve stopped himself when he saw the look Tony was sending him. "…building in New York?"

"It's powered by an Arc Reactor, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?" Bruce asked as Tony nodded.

"It's just a prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That's what he's getting at." Tony told Steve.

"So, why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract Project? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Banner suggested.

"We're not." Will said as Steve looked at him. "We're a defense agency first and foremost. We protect the planet and people from things they're not ready for but solving the world's energy crisis doesn't seem like something the World Security Council or Fury would do."'

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files." Tony said and took out his cellphone to check the progress Jarvis was making with their hack.

"I'm sorry, did you say—"" Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has every tried to hide. Blueberry?" Tony offered.

"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around." Steve said.

"And intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome." Tony said.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them." Steve told them.

"Steve, I'm all for following orders and believe me I owe Fury and SHIELD a lot but none of this seems right. We have orders but I think you'd agree that in some situations following your gut is better." Will told him. "Can you say that none of this seems off to you?"

Steve looked at him and contemplated the idea. "Just find the Cube." Steve left the lab.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about? I'm starting to wonder if they should have kept him on ice." Tony said.

 **"** **[Cough]** _Daddy issues._ **[Cough]"** Will joked as Bruce chuckled and Tony just gave him a look. "Ugh, sorry don't know where that came from."

"Well he's not wrong about Loki. He's got the jump on us." Bruce said.

"What he's got is an Acme dynamite kid. It's going to blow up in his face. And I'm going to be there when it does." Tony said.

"Yup, and I'll read all about it." Bruce said as he sent over all the files to Tony's server.

"Uh-huh, or you'll be suiting up with the rest of us." Tony replied.

"No, you see, I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed. Like a nerve. It's a nightmare." Banner said.

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it." Tony touched his chest piece. "This little circle of light, it's part of me now, not just armor. It's a terrible privilege."

"I was an ordinary college student before all this happened." Will said. He walked over to join the three. "Just a kid on summer break who thought the weirdest thing I would ever see in my life was a billionaire in a high-tech suit who had no idea what to do with it. No offense, Tony."

"None taken, kid." Tony replied.

"Then a stroke of fate brought a meteor into my path and the next thing I know…my brain was supercharged and pretty much torpedoed my chance at a normal life…like you." Will said.

"I think our circumstances are a little different, Will." Dr. Banner told him.

"In some cases, yes but in some cases no." Will said as Dr. Banner looked at him. "You're not the only one who can do a lot of damage if he loses control. When I first got my powers, I could barely lift a lawn chair. Now, I could snap a man's neck with a snap of my fingers, crush a tank with a single thought and probably bring the whole Helicarrier down if I got pissed off or angry."

"But you learned to control it. I can't." Dr. Banner said.

"Tell that to the people you saved from the Abomination." Will said as Banner looked at him. "Dr. Banner, if you're willing to I can take a look in your head and figure out what's going on with your alter-ego. Or better yet, maybe give you two a chance to speak face-to-face in a safe situation?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Banner asked.

"Give you a chance to speak to the person you've been so scared of turning into by accident. Maybe get you two on some kind of understanding." Will said.

"You mean if he wants to eat my brain and take over my body and kill everyone here?" Banner asked as Will looked at the Doctor.

"I think your relationship is a little more complicated than that, Dr. Banner." Will said. "I read the report on your accident. That amount of gamma radiation should have killed you."

"So, what? You're saying that the Hulk…that the other guy saved me? That's a great thought. Saved it from what?" Banner asked.

"Who knows unless we ask him." Will said. Dr. Banner just looked at him like he was crazy. "Ignoring all the Freudian Id, Super-Ego and psychosis crap, allowing you to actually see the Hulk might give you a better understanding of your relationship. Just one time to help you…that's all I'm asking."

"And what happens if he gets angry and wants to come out?" Dr. Banner asked.

"I'll put you to sleep before that happens." Will said. "One leap of faith, Dr. Banner. That's all I'm asking."

"I took one already and it led me here." Dr. Banner took a big sigh and thought about Will's offer. "I'm only doing this out of scientific curiosity."

"Duly noted." Will said as he brought over a chair and motioned Dr. Banner to sit. Will got in his own chair and sat cross from Dr. Banner. "Ok, just take a deep breath and calm your mind. Things will get weird so just listen to me and we'll be fine."

Dr. Banner took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Will concentrated and opened up a mental link between the two. He then quickly put Dr. Banner to sleep and entered his mind.

 _Dr. Banner opened his eyes and saw himself standing in the empty test lab where he was exposed to the gamma radiation that caused the Hulk accident. "Creepy isn't it?" Dr. Banner heard as he turned and saw Will standing there in his regular clothes which was weird because before he went to sleep he was wearing his Aegis uniform. "Believe me, when I first tried this I was kind of freaked out, but you get used to it."_

 _"_ _Where are we?" Dr. Banner asked._

 _"_ _We're in your head. Or more accurately, we're in your sub-conscious. It's the part of your mind that you aren't aware of but impacts certain aspects of your behavior or actions. And in your case, your subconscious happens to be the scientific part of your brain." Will said._

 _"_ _How is this possible?" Dr. Banner asked, still unsure as to how he was actually seeing his subconscious mind in person._

 _"_ _Not sure on the specifics but from what I can tell, your subconscious takes the form of whatever part of your mind or personality is more prevalent. For you, it's your scientific mind. And the reason you're seeing me and we're able to walk about your subconscious is because I'm using my mind-walking ability to let us view your mind from a third-person point of view while you're actually asleep in the real world." Will said as Dr. Banner looked at him weird. "Believe me, this is only the beginning of the weird sandwich. Plus, our appearance is how our mind sees ourselves. A little deep but don't think too much into it."_

 _"_ _Ok, so far so good." Dr. Banner said. "Now what?"_

 _"_ _Well, after a little looking through your mind this isn't the only one part of your subconscious. It's the part of Bruce Banner. You have another part of your subconscious that's currently asleep and that's where we'll find your green-skinned alter-ego." Will said as he raised his hand and the area around them began to fade out like someone took out a giant eraser to it and they found themselves in a dark place of rubble and leaking water._

 _"_ _Where are we?" Banner asked as he looked around._

 _"_ _This is the part of your subconscious where the Hulk resides." Will said. He walked over to the rubble and saw something underneath. He waved his hand and the rubble disappeared to reveal a sign that read home. "Home."_

 ** _"_** ** _Leave…me…alone…"_** _They heard a deep guttural voice whisper out of nowhere. Dr. Banner and Will looked around in the darkness to see a set of green-colored eyes glaring at them. The eyes then looked at Banner and growled._ _ **"Puny Banner…leave Hulk alone."**_

 _The surrounding area shook a bit which meant the Hulk was a little pissed off. "Whoa." Will steadied himself as he saw Dr. Banner was scared. "It's ok, Dr. Banner. Don't worry. Hulk, can you hear me?"_

 ** _"_** ** _Leave Hulk alone."_** _Hulk warned them and stepped out into view, giving Will his first good look at the jade green giant and he was big. The name Hulk was accurate and with his massive frame and angry expression, Will was a little scared that he even gulped like he was in a cartoon._

 _"_ _We don't want to hurt you." Will told him as he motioned Dr. Banner to speak._

 _"_ _We don't want to hurt you." Dr. Banner said as well._

 ** _"_** ** _All humans want to hurt Hulk. Humans scared of Hulk. Humans shoot at Hulk. Hulk wants to be left alone!"_** _Hulk shouted as Will took a step back in reflex but stood his ground._

 _"_ _We're not like most humans." Will told the Hulk, showing his strength by standing his ground. "We want to help. Ok, you and Dr. Banner are connected, and nothing can change that so I'm trying to help you two co-exist peacefully. I want to help you."_

 ** _"_** ** _Hulk needs no one!"_** _Hulk shouted as a shockwave shook the room. Dr. Banner felt his anger rising but Will used his telepathy to calm him down._ _ **"Puny human strong. Puny human protect puny Banner."**_

 _"_ _I want to protect you both. I saw the footage of your fight against the Abomination and I know that you could have hurt people, but you didn't. You protected them by stopping the Abomination. You're not a mindless monster." Will told him as the Hulk just glared at him. "Dr. Banner, anything to add here?"_

 _Dr. Banner hesitated a bit as he looked at the Hulk. "This may be one of your only chances to speak your mind." Will told him._

 _"_ _Hulk…did you save me the day at the lab?" Dr. Banner asked as the Hulk just growled._

 ** _"_** ** _Hulk needs puny Banner. Puny Banner weak but Hulk needs puny Banner. No puny Banner, no Hulk."_** _Hulk told him._

 _"_ _I think that's a yes." Will said as the Hulk glared at them._

 ** _"_** ** _Hulk tired. Leave Hulk alone!"_** _Hulk shouted._

 _"_ _I think we should leave now." Dr. Banner said._

 _"_ _Right."_ Will pulled them out of his subconscious and back into the real world where the two woke up with a start. **"[Gasp]** Whew, ok. That's a special kind of hungover."

Will shook his head from the headache he got as Tony walked over to him. "Kid, you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Will looked at Dr. Banner who was doubled-over like he was going to puke. "Dr. Banner, you ok?"

"Give me a second." Dr. Banner held up a finger and motioned them to wait. He took a deep breath and pulled his head up. "That was strange."

"Yup, but I'm getting better at that." Will said as his brain hurt. His telepathy was a bit out of whack from talking with the Hulk when he picked up something by the scepter. "What the?"

"Kid, what's wrong?" Tony asked as Will got up and walked over to the scepter.

"Either I'm going crazy or I could have sworn I got a mental reading from the scepter." Will told them.

"What?" Dr. Banner asked as he got back to his feet. "Like a mental reading as in a person's mind?"

"Yeah." Will closed his eyes and used his telekinetic sense to scan his surroundings and picked up the minds of Dr. Banner and Tony but got a third bizarre one in the room and it was the scepter. "I'm not crazy. I'm getting a mental reading from the scepter…it's alive."

"That could be the unknown energy reading we've been picking up." Dr. Banner walked over to the computers to bring up the energy readings they picked up.

"Edi, scan the gem again. Run a structural and compositional analysis." Will pressed a few buttons on his computer and a beam scanned the jewel again.

 _"_ _The Scepter is alien. There are elements I'm unable to quantify."_ Edi told them.

"So, there's elements you can?" Tony asked.

 _"_ _The jewel in the scepter appears to be a protective housing for something inside, something powerful."_ Edi said.

"Any similarities to the Tesseract energy?" Dr. Banner asked.

 _"_ _None. The energy inside the jewels appears to be something unique. But I believe I'm deciphering some kind of code."_ Edi told him.

"Are you sure about that?" Will asked.

 _"_ _Seeing as how you created me with the help of Mr. Stark, I believe I'm operating at maximum efficiency so I'm positive about my results. Your hunch was right, Will. There appears to be something powerful inside the scepter similar to your unique mental abilities."_ Edi told them.

"That's why I could pick up on chatter, or whatever I call it when I scan a person's mind. This thing is…alive." Will said. Dr. Banner and Tony weren't sure about his wording, but his general point was right.

"It could be how Loki was able to use it to sway Dr. Selvig and Agent Barton's minds." Dr. Banner said.

"Only one way to find out." Will held his hand over the gem, closed his eyes and used his telepathy to interface with it.

His consciousness entered the gem where he was immediately met with a protective barrier like with Loki's mind that he couldn't break through. He tried as hard as he could but couldn't until the barrier opened up…like whatever he was trying to interface with let him enter. Will's subconscious form walked through the psychic door to see nothing but pitch-black emptiness when he saw a faint glow of a yellow stone. He slowly walked up to the stone and felt the psychic energy radiating from it.

"Not all that impressive." Will said to himself as he slowly reached his hand out and touched it…which was a big mistake as his mind was suddenly imbued with immense psychic energy.

In the real world, a yellow wisp of energy came out of the jewel and infected Will causing him to glow bright blue as his powers were in full affect. The shine was so bright that Dr. Banner and Tony needed to shield their eyes. "KID!" Tony shouted, unable to see what was happening. Will floated into the air and his brain was overloaded with information and energy. His eyes glowed yellow instead of blue and the psychic energy build-up got too much to the point where it unleashed a shockwave that knocked Tony and Dr. Banner back and sent Will flying through the windows of the lab and crashing down onto the bridge where he smashed into a chair and nearly hit Director Fury.

"Will!" Coulson shouted as he and Thor ran over to check on him. Thor turned him over on his side as Director Fury and Hill looked up to see Will had crashed through the window from the lab up above. Thor looked him over and couldn't see any physical wounds, but he wasn't regaining consciousness. Coulson checked his pulse and got a steady beat. "I got a pulse."

"Get him to the med bay, now!" Fury ordered. Thor picked up Will and Coulson showed him to the Med Bay.

Thor put Will on a gurney as Director Fury, Hill, Coulson, Romanoff, Captain Rogers, Dr. Banner and Tony watched as the doctors and medics looked over him.

"What on earth happened up there?" Fury asked.

"Will got a mental reading from the scepter. Whatever that jewel is, it has similar abilities to him. It's probably how Loki was able to use it to turn Dr. Selvig and Agent Barton." Dr. Banner told him.

"The kid tried to interface with it, but something happened." Tony told him.

"What happened?" Hill asked.

"We don't know. One moment he's fine, the next moment his powers act up and he gets flung from the window." Dr. Banner said.

"Is he alive?" Steve asked as the doctor walked over to them.

"Agent Detmer is physically fine. We've found no physical marks or damage and his pulse is steady. His heart is behaving normally, and his respiratory system is functioning fine. The initial cat scan we ran did show some abnormalities." The doctor handed over the tablet and it showed Will's brain scan. While he normally had an over-active brain activity given his abilities, this time was different. Will's brain activity was beyond off the charts and was acting like it was a nuclear reactor from the amount of activity and energy it was producing. Will's normal mind activity was like the Looney Tunes Road Runner, but this was like the Road Runner after 100 shots of caffeine.

"With all the information and activity in his brain, it's a miracle he's still alive." The Doctor said.

"What do you think caused this?" Fury asked.

"The influx of information and energy into his brain was too much for him to handle at once. In defense, his body put itself into some kind of coma…to allow him to heal and process the information." The Doctor explained to Fury.

"Is it permanent?" Fury asked.

"I'm not sure, Director. His body put itself in the coma so he could wake up in an hour or never. We just don't know." The doctor put it frankly.

"Monitor his condition constantly and don't leave him unattended. And remember, everything that happens with him is under Level 10 restricted level. This is never mentioned again or put in record." Fury ordered.

"Yes, sir." The doctor replied as he and his team got back to work. With nothing they could do, the others got back to what they were doing. Tony walked over and looked down at Will and put his hand on his arm.

"Wake up soon, kid." Tony said to him before leaving to go help Dr. Banner.

Line Break xxxxx

 **Inside Will's mind**

Will's brain was undergoing a shift in power so intense that the feedback launched him from the lab and put him in a self-induced coma. While his body was perfectly fine, his mind was busy assimilating the new influx of psychic energy and getting stronger. Putting his body into a coma was a self-defense mechanism that allowed his brain to adapt to upgrade quicker and easier. Even though Will's eyes were closed with his coma, his eyes moved rapidly which indicated he was in REM sleep and was experiencing something very vivid.

A flurry of images were going through his head like when he was on Rook island when he entered the cave and got hit with all those past memories and future moments. The flurry of images including his past memories and things he's experienced in his past but they were moving so fast that he couldn't really keep track of them. Eventually, after what seemed like hours the flurry of images began to slow down but they changed to ones he wasn't familiar with.

 _"_ _They were better as they were. We pretend on Asgard that we're more advanced, but we come here, battling like Bilge Snipe." "Like what?" "Bilge Snipe. You know huge, scaly, big antlers. You don't have those?" "I don't think so." "Well, they are repulsive. And they trample everything in their path." "I'm asking, what are you prepared to do." "I want to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction." "Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned." "Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It's a sign to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war." "What are we a team? No, we're a time bomb." "Big man in a suit of armor. Take that away what are you?" "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Everything good about you came out of a bottle." "There is only the war."_

Will looked and saw all the images were off the team and they seemed to be arguing. The images then changed to a massive battle in Midtown New York City and the team was there at the center of it, doing everything they could to stop the Chitauri, but he noticed he wasn't there. The portal was opened up above Stark Tower and the Chitauri poured out in droves. He saw the Hulk and Thor fighting against some kind of Leviathan while Iron Man and Captain America teamed up. He then saw Iron Man redirect a nuclear missile into the portal before falling through space…dead.

"TONY!" Will shouted as the images changed again and he found himself in a blank empty space before the surroundings changed and Will was in a dark, musty cave, lit with a fire and wall lights. There were weapon crates all over the place with STARK Industries logos. He looked around and saw Tony hard a work hammering something on an anvil. Will looked and noticed the Arc reactor in his chest was a different model then the one he currently had. Tony took the thing he was hammering and dipped it in treating oil before walking over and putting in on a table to reveal a helmet…a prototype Iron Man helmet. "I'm in Tony's memory."

The surrounding changed again and he found himself in some kind of ballerina studio that kept flickering…like something was changing. He saw a younger looking Romanoff training in combat as the surrounding area kept flickering from a ballerina studio into a combat training room. "This is where she trained." Will said to himself as the surroundings changed again into what looked like an old plane. He walked over and saw Captain America in his old World War 2 garb piloting the airplane into the water. "I'm in all their memories. I've never been able to do this so easily before."

The surrounding area changed yet again to reveal some icy tundra terrain and Will saw Thor fighting against large Frost Giants with Loki and other Asgardian Warriors. This must be before he came to Earth. The area changed again to reveal the slums of Brazil where Dr. Banner was residing in years ago when he was on the run. The area then split in half and changed into Harlem during the Hulk's fight against the Abomination. The area changed one last time to reveal some kind of hallway. Will seemed to be in some kind of office like back at the Triskelion but it was empty.

"Ok, whose memory is this?" Will asked himself as he looked around for some kind of clue when he heard a meow. He turned and saw a cat walking down the hall and up to a young looking Director Fury who didn't have an eyepatch. "Whoa, Director Fury before he was Director. I can't believe I'm the only one who's seeing this."

Will watched as the cat walked up to Fury and he began going gaga for the cat, petting him all over and being happy. Will's never seen Director Fury express any emotion except for anger, brooding anger, or reserved anger. _"Oh, aren't you just the cutest thing. What's your name? Goose? Cool name for a cool cat."_ Fury said as he pet Goose all over.

"Goose? Either whoever named him really likes Top Gun or has a weird sense of humor." Will said to himself.

 _"_ _Fury."_ He heard as he turned and what he saw made his heart and stomach drop. Standing there in the hallway was Carol Danvers, his birth mother dressed in a Nine-inch-Nails shirt and wearing a SHIELD Hat. _"Come on."_

 _"_ _I'll be back."_ Fury pet Goose before following Carol.

"I was right. You did know more then you were letting on." Will concentrated to find the next set of memories after this. He needed to know more. The memory changed to reveal Carol and Fury in what looked like a prototype quinjet. They were flying very fast and were heading up straight with the force of the acceleration pushing against them. They heard a noise and turned their heads to see something.

 _"_ _Looks like we got a stowaway."_ Fury said as it was Goose and the force of the quinjet propped him up against a crate.

 **[Meow]** Goose meowed as Carol leveled the quinjet out and decelerated. _"Hang on, Goose."_ Carol said as Goose plopped down on the ground and moved to the two of them, jumping into Carol's lap and got comfortable. _"Oh, Goose."_

She took him off his lap and put him on the ground. Goose jumped up and got comfortable on the quinjet's dashboard. _"Who's a good kitty, huh? Huh, Goose? You are, Goose. That's right."_ Fury scratched Goose on the head when Carol handed him a file.

 _"_ _See anyone you know_?" She asked as he looked at the photo. Will walked over and saw the photo was taken in 1989, a year after he was born. _"Funny story. I arrived on Hala near dead and no memory. That was six years ago."_

 _"_ _So, you think you're the pilot who went down with Dr. Lawson?"_ Fury asked.

" _I'm saying the last person who saw them alive could probably tell us."_ Carol said.

 _"_ _Maria Rambeau?"_ Fury asked as she nodded.

 _"_ _So, how do we get to Louisiana?"_ She asked.

 _"_ _Due east and hang a right over Memphis."_ Fury told her and looked over the rest of the file. With this being Fury's memory, Will was able to read over the information as well. Carol Danvers was a test pilot for Project Pegasus under the supervision of Dr. Lawson which was impressive considering the file said she had given birth a year earlier. Could this be the reason he never met her?

 _"_ _That agent…that stopped the Skrulls from finding us?"_ Carol asked.

"Skrulls?" Will wondered what the hell a Skrull was.

 _"_ _Coulson. The new guy. Guess he doesn't hate me yet."_ Fury said.

"Coulson knew too?" Will asked.

 _"_ _Yeah, well give him time."_ Carol said.

 _"_ _Well, I guess he had a feeling. Went with his gut against orders. It's a really hard thing to do but it's what keeps us human."_ Fury told her.

 _"_ _I get in trouble for that…a lot."_ She said.

 _"_ _Oh, I can see that about you."_ He said, causing her to laugh. " _Rescuing the guy who sold you out to the Skrulls? I'm guessing that's not standard Kree operating procedure."_

"She's Kree?" Will asked himself, now having more questions than before.

 _"_ _Well, I won't tell your boss if you won't tell mine."_ She joked and Fury laughed. Will didn't think he'd ever see Fury laugh…at all. He thought he was born with that scowl on his face. And he could have sworn that he thought the two were flirting with one another.

The memories changed again, and this time Fury was in a house with Carol and two other women, a mother and child. He looked at the mother and recognized her from the file, Maria Rambeau. She was best friends with her mother and her daughter Monica. Monica was showing Carol a whole bunch of photos and old memories in an effort to try and rejogged her memory. Carol had one hell of a life. Fury watched as Carol looked over the photos before picking up a charred half of a dog-tag.

 _"_ _That's all that survived the crash. Or so we thought."_ Maria said as Carol looked it over. Fury then noticed a medical file in the box and took it out and what he saw surprised him. He opened the file to see a birth certificate for baby boy born September 8th, 1988 and Carol was listed as the birthmother. The boy's birth name was _William Alexander Danvers_ and his birthfather was listed as _John Garrett_.

 _"_ _Here's something I think you should remember."_ He said as he handed her file. She took it and looked it over and read the medical files about her labor and there was even a photo of her in the hospital with her newborn baby boy.

 _"_ _I…I have a son?"_ Carol asked as she and Fury looked at Maria.

 _"_ _You met a guy at the bar we always go to. You normally stay away from one-night stands, but I guess there was something special about him."_ She said. _"Soon enough you were pregnant, and you were beyond terrified…much like me when I was pregnant with Monica. But you were there for me and I was there for you through the entire thing."_

 _"_ _What happened?"_ She asked.

 _"_ _You…you gave William up for adoption. You said that once you saw his face you knew you couldn't give him the life that he deserved. He deserved a loving family and a stable home and…you couldn't do that for him."_ Maria said as Carol looked at the picture of her child with fondness. _"It was the hardest decision you ever had to make."_

 _"_ _Do you know where he is now?"_ Carol asked.

 _"_ _The last time I checked…he was with his adopted parents in New Jersey."_ Maria told her. Carol began to get glimpses of her memory coming back and remember parts of this…and most importantly she remembers the emotions of that day. She touched her cheek and found it wet…she was crying.

The memory shifted again, and Carol, Fury, and Maria were in the house with a green-skinned, pointy eared alien talking to them.

 _"_ _You know, you should really be more kind to your neighbors. You don't know when you'll need to borrow some sugar."_ Talos told them as Fury pointed his pistol right at his head while the alien casually sipped a soda. Will looked and saw Carol's fights glowing yellow/orange.

"What the frack?" Will said outloud.

 _"_ _Hang on a sec before you go swinging those jazz hands around, making a mess in your friends house, it's a lovely home by the way."_ Talos said as Maria looked out the window. Fury looked as well so Will could see that he saw Monica was outside with Maria. " _We wouldn't harm a hair on the girl. Just, don't kill me. That'll really complicate the situation."_

 _"_ _I'm about five seconds from complicating that wall with some ugly-ass squirrel brains."_ Fury warned him.

 _"_ _I'm sorry I simmed your boss but now I stand before you as my truth self, without deception."_ Talos told them.

 _"_ _And who is that out there?"_ Carol asked.

 _"_ _Ok, fair point but I'm sure that you understand I had to take some precautions. I saw you crush twenty of my best men with your hands bound. I just want to talk."_ Talos tried to sue for peace.

 _"_ _The last time we talked I ended up hanging from my ankles."_ Carol told him.

 _"_ _That's before I knew who you were. Before I knew what made you different than the others. I have an audio recording from Pegasus of your voice from a plane crash six years ago on a device I believe you call a black box."_ Talos said.

 _"_ _They told me it was destroyed in the crash. How did you get it?"_ Maria asked.

 _"_ _Does she not understand? Young lady, I have a special skill that allows me to get into places I'm not allowed to be in."_ Talos replied.

 _"_ _Call me young lady again and I'm gonna put my foot in a place it's not supposed to be."_ She said as Talos was just confused.

 _"_ _Am I supposed to guess where that is?"_ He questioned.

 _"_ _Your ass."_ Fury and Carol said.

 _"_ _Ok, I get it. We're all a little on edge here but look I just need your help regarding some coordinates. If you sit down and listen to this, I guarantee you it'll be worth your while."_ Talos begged her.

Carol was standing her ground, but the offer seemed to have a positive. She looked outside to the Skrull with Monica. _"Call your buddy back inside and I'll listen."_

 _"_ _Deal."_ Talos agreed when Goose walked up and brushed again him, he jumped back in fear and shock. _"Oh my god! Get that thing away from me! How'd it get in here?!"_

Maria, Fury, and Carol were confused as Goose was calmly sitting on the ground near Talos but the Skrull was afraid of him like it was a rapid animal. " _The Cat?"_ Carol asked as she picked him and Talos quickly backed away. _"This isn't what you're afraid of, is it?"_

 _"_ _That's not a cat, that's a Flerken."_ Talos told them.

"What the frak's a Flerken?" Will asked as the memory changed again. This time the memory was of Fury and Maria in some kind of spaceship being led at gunpoint by two blue-skinned aliens that Will remembered from his visions. They were Kree.

Fury and Maria fought back and tried to free themselves but before the Kree could kill them, a bright glowing yellow object crashed into them and threw them into the wall. The glow dissipated and it was revealed to be Carol in a red, blue, and gold uniform…and she was glowing. "Huh, so that's where I get it from." Will said to himself.

 _"_ _You know you're glowing, right?"_ Fury asked.

 _"_ _I'll explain later."_ Carol said as she opened the lunchbox to reveal a blue Cube, the Tesseract.

"The Tesseract." Will was shocked to see it there. "What the actual hell is going on?"

 _"_ _Take the Tesseract. Leave the lunchbox."_ Carol said as Fury removed Goose's muzzle.

 _"_ _Me?"_ Fury asked as she nodded. _"I'm not touching that thing!"_

 _"_ _You want me to get you an oven mitt_?" Carol asked as Goose's mouth opened up to reveal a monstrous collection of tentacles that grabbed the Tesseract and swallowed it whole. Fury dropped Goose in shock seeing the small cat swallow the Cube, but it seemed like Goose didn't care at all and was too busy licking his fur.

"I will never be able to un-see that." Will said to himself.

 _"_ _Take the Skrulls in the quadjet and go. And take the Flerken with you."_ Carol said she left.

 _"_ _What about you?"_ Maria asked.

 _"_ _I'll buy you some time."_ Carol replied.

 _"_ _I'm picking you up now."_ Fury said to Goose and carefully picked him up.

The memory changed again, and it was of Fury and Goose in the quadjet. _"That was a close call, huh Goosey? Huh? Those bad guys still in there somewhere?"_ He asked as he looked at Goose's stomach. Goose must not have liked the extra holding because he scratched Fury on his left eye. _"OH, MOTHER FLERKEN!"_

 _"_ _You ok?"_ Maria asked.

 _"_ _Yeah, it's just a scratch."_ Fury told her as he touched his eye.

 _"_ _No."_ Talos and the other Skrulls shook their head no. It was a lot more than a scratch.

"You're kidding me? That's how he lost his eye? I thought he lost it during a mission when an enemy dug it out with a knife." Will laughed to himself at how Fury, the most badass and decorated spy of all of SHIELD lost his eye to a cat, sorry Flerken. "Oh my god, if this ever got out Fury would not be able to live with it. He would kill me for sure."

The memory changed one last time and Will found himself in a familiar looking park on a summer day. He looked around and recognized the tree with the tire swing, the playground and jungle gym and woodchips play area. "No way, this the park on Adam's street back in Atlantic City. I spent every day of the summer here until I was 14." Will looked in the park and saw a younger version of his parents in the park with a 7-year old version of himself and his friends. It was their regular summer picnic. His mom was on the blanket getting lunch ready along with the other parents while he and his dad played baseball with his friends. "Is this one of my memories?"

 _"_ _That's him?"_ He heard as he turned around and saw Fury and Carol leaning against the park's fence and watched Will play.

 _"_ _That's him."_ Carol replied as she watched her son playing baseball and saw he was happy. Younger Will was completely unaware she was watching him. _"He looks so happy."_

 _"_ _He looks like a good kid."_ Fury said as Carol nodded. _"Do you want to go talk to him?"_

Carol contemplated his suggestion but decided against it. " _No."_ She said as she looked at him. " _Giving him up what the hardest decision I ever had to make…but it was for the best. I would love nothing more than to somehow be a part of his life but if the last few days have taught me anything…it's not possible. He deserves a normal life. I can never give him that."_

 _"_ _Maybe you should go talk to him once before you leave. You don't know how long you'll be gone."_ Fury said as a small wiffleball flew over the fence near them. Carol picked up the wiffle ball as Will ran over.

 _"_ _Hi."_ He said with a smile as she smiled at him. _"Can I have my ball back, please?"_

 _"_ _Here you go."_ She said as she handed it to him, and he smiled.

 _"_ _Thank you."_ He said as he looked at her clothes. _"I like your clothes."_

She smiled as she was still wearing her uniform but had her flight jacket over it. _"Thank you. I like your shirt."_ Carol said as he smiled and looked down at his Power Ranger shirt.

 _"_ _Thanks. I hope to be like them when I grow up. A superhero."_ He said as she chuckled and pat his head.

 _"_ _I think that'll happen."_ She said as a tear rolled down her cheek.

 _"_ _Will, lunch is ready!"_ Mary shouted as she waved him over.

 _"_ _I'm coming. Bye lady, bye Mister."_ Will waved goodbye and ran over to his parents.

"I met her all those years ago. I didn't know I did." Will said to himself as he saw Carol wipe her eyes.

 _"_ _That alone was enough."_ Carol said. _"Maybe one day when all of this is over…I can try and be a part of his life."_

 _"_ _I'll keep an eye on him."_ Fury said as Carol looked at him. _"Just to make sure he stays out of trouble."_

 _"_ _Thank you, Fury."_ Carol replied as the memory faded away.

"None of it was by accident. Fury knew who I was. He didn't just make me a SHIELD agent because of my powers…he was looking out for me." Will came to this realization with all the new information he got from Fury's memories. He thought that everything's Fury has done, the training and special treatment he's gotten at SHIELD that no other agent would get was because of his power but it wasn't. It was because of the promise to his birth mother. All of this was because Fury owed her. He had a newfound respect for Fury after seeing everything.

"Ok. Enough of the trip down memory lane. Time to wake up." Will concentrated as he began glowing blue, similarly to how Carol glowed when she activated her powers and he was brought out of whatever memory limbo he was in.

Line Break xxxxx

Will opened his eyes and found himself standing back on the bridge of the helicarrier in his Aegis gear with his hood and mask down. He looked around and saw some shards of broken glass on the ground but looked up and saw the broken windows to the lab he was flung through. _"Oh, good. I'm back."_ Will said as he saw Director Fury at a computer screen with Hill and a technician that detected a computer virus hacking into their system. _"Director Fury, I'm back and I'm ready for action."_

Director Fury just walked away like he didn't hear him at all. _"Director Fury?"_ He called out when Thor came by and passed right through him like he was a ghost. _"What the hell?"_

He pats himself down to see if he was alive and he felt fine but no one else could see him, it was like he wasn't there. Will walked over to Hill and slowly reached his hand out to touch her shoulder but his hand phased right through her like a ghost. He reached his hand over to her face and he passed right through. He saw her shudder a bit like a breeze went by but she didn't notice him at all _. "Oh my god…I'm dead."_ Will said to himself and began to freak out. _"Stupid, stupid, stupid. Next time a mysterious alien artifact houses some kind of mysterious power source, don't screw with it."_

He began slapping his forehead and kicking himself because of his stupid decision and the ultimate price he paid. After about ten full minutes of shouting, cursing, and kicking himself, he slumped to the ground in total despair…completely unaware of what to do next. _"Well, upside to being a ghost is I don't have to worry about taxes…or food. Downside…no food and I'm dead."_ Will threw his head back to bang it against the wall but just phased through it. _"Another downside…that."_

He stood up off the ground, wondering if he could phase through walls and people why didn't he phase through the ground but put that to the back of his head when he overheard Hill talk.

"Any update on Agent Detmer's condition?" She called to the medbay.

"His brain activity has gone down but is still unresponsive. We'll continue to monitor the situation." The doctor replied.

"Keep me informed." Hill told him.

 _"_ _Condition?"_ Will made his way over to the medbay and saw himself lying in a gurney, hooked up to an EKG with doctors monitoring his condition. _"Ok, I'm not dead…just…I have no idea what's happening to me."_

He looked at the EKG and saw his heartbeat was steady which is a good thing and the brain scans showed activity. _"Ok, so I'm not dead."_ Will said as a doctor walked over and inserted a needle into his left arm to draw some blood. Will's left arm flared up and felt a prick. _"Ok, felt that so I'm definitely not dead. So what the hell happened to me?"_

He looked at his body and glanced at his face. _"I forgot to shave. I have some stubble."_ He touched his chin and felt the little hairs. _"Ok, so I'm not dead because my body is alive and well. My heart's beating and my brain's alive and I felt that prick which meant whatever happens to my real body happens to…whatever I am. Ghost is out of the option. Maybe it's some out of body thing. Wait, do I still have my powers?"_

Will looked at a pen and clipboard on a table and held his hand out but nothing. _"Ok, telekinesis not-check."_ He then focused his telepathy and read the mind of the doctor which caused an uptick in brain activity. _"Ok, telepathy_ _check. Now, how do I get back in my body?"_ He looked at his body and then at his mouth. _"I sure hope I don't have to go in that way."_ He then looked at his butt. _"Or the other way."_

Before he could even entertain another idea of getting back his body, his telepathic sense picked up some psychic rumbles in the lab. _"Hello, what's this?"_ He floated through the walls of the helicarrier and back up into the lab to see the team assembled and heard something about using the Tesseract to make weapons.

"Did you know about this?" Banner asked Romanoff.

"Do you want to think about removing yourself from this situation?" Romanoff asked him.

"Heh, I was in Kolkata, I was pretty well removed." Banner told her.

"Loki is manipulating you." Romanoff said.

"And you've been doing what exactly?" Banner asked.

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." Romanoff said.

"Yes, I came because Will gave me a chance like a human being and he's in the medbay in a coma because of all of this. So, I would like to know what he risked his life for and why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction?" Banner asked.

"Because of him." Fury pointed to Thor which made everyone confused as to why SHIELD needed weapons against him.

"Me?" Thor asked.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone but we are hopelessly…hilariously outgunned." Fury told them.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor told him.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you?" Fury asked. "And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched. That can't be controlled. And my best agent against those threats is sitting in the medbay in a coma with the World Security Council breathing down my next every second to find out who he is. I needed other means to control those threats."

"Like you controlled the Cube and the scepter? It's because of those things that Will's in a coma. He followed orders like a good soldier and paid the price." Steve told him.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor informed them.

"A higher form?" Steve asked.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with a—""Nuclear deterrent. Because that always calms everything right down." Tony said sarcastically.

"Remind me again, how you made your fortune Stark?" Fury shot back.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep in—Wait, hold on. How is this now about me? I'm sorry, isn't everything? I thought humans were more involved than this. Excuse me, do we come to your planet and blow stuff up? You treat your champions with such mistrust. You are not my champions Are you boys really that naïve? SHIELD monitors potential threats. And Captain America is on threat watch? We all are. That is not your concern, Doctor. You're on that list? Tell me if he's above or below Barbara Streisand? Stark, so help me god if you make one more comment. Oh, he threatened me. Verbal threat. I feel threatened." Will just listened to them all argue at one another.

 _"_ _Wow, it's like listening to a bunch of four-year olds argue and not in the funny kind of way."_ Will said as he looked at the audience with a knowing wink, breaking the fourth-wall for a bit before getting back to the matter at hand _. "Ok, what to do about this?"_

"You speak of control yet you court chaos." Thor told Fury.

"That's his MO, isn't it? I mean, what are we a team? No, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're…we're a time bomb." Banner said.

"You need to step away." Fury warned him.

"Why shouldn't the guy be allowed to let off a little steam?" Tony asked. He put his hand on Steve's shoulder but Steve shrugged him off.

"You know damn well why. Back off." Steve warned him.

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me." Tony told him.

"Yeah, big man in a suit of armor. Take that off what are you?" Steve asked.

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony replied as Romanoff shrugged.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. And I've seen the footage. The only thing you fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play. To lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you." Steve said.

"I think I would just cut the wire." Tony told him causing Steve to chuckle.

"Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero." Steve told him.

"A hero, like you?" Tony asked. "You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

Steve smirked as he stood up with Tony. "So put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds."

"You people are so petty…and tiny." Thor commented.

 _"_ _Great, this is getting worse."_ Will said when he picked up more psychic energy radiating from the Scepter. He closed his eyes and focused and found it was emitting a discrete amount of energy that was affecting the limbic system of the brain, i.e. the part of the brain where anger and aggression originate from. It wasn't generating anger or aggression in the team, it was just enhancing what was already there. These people had issues but the scepter was making them more volatile. " _I better fix this quick."_

"Yeah, this is a team." Banner commented.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner to—""Where? You rented my room." Banner said.

"The cell was just in case—""In case you needed to kill me but you can't. I know, I tried." Banner told them as no one was expecting that answer. "I got low. I didn't see an end so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other gut spit it out. So I moved on, focused on helping other people and I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff, you want to know how I stay calm?!"

 ** _"_** ** _CALM DOWN ALL OF YOU!"_** Will telepathically shouted as he unleashed a mental inducement wave that counteracted the scepter's energy and calmed them all down. They all felt a rush of energy wash over them and they all began to feel better.

"What on earth was that?" Dr. Banner asked as he found he was holding the scepter and quickly put it down.

"What happened?" Thor asked.

"I don't know, but I feel…calmer." Romanoff said when all of a sudden Will materialized in front of them. His form was spiritual in nature, like a ghost but he was there and they could see him.

 _"_ _My god, after what I just watched all of you could do with some therapy."_ Will said.

"Kid?" Tony asked as Will looked at him.

 _"_ _You can see me?"_ Will asked as they all nodded _. "Oh, that's a good sign. I think I'm getting a hang of…whatever this is."_

"Agent Detmer, what happened?" Fury asked.

 _"_ _I'm not sure. The last thing I remember was interfacing with the scepter, which by the way, don't touch."_ Will said as Dr. Banner and everyone took a step back. _"I got a bunch of information downloaded into my brain at that moment…a lot of information. Then I woke up in memories and the next thing I know I appeared on the bridge but no one could see me."_

"What do you mean no one could see you?" Steve asked.

 _"_ _I mean, since I appeared on the bridge Thor literally walked right through me and I put my hand through Hill's head like I was some kind of ghost."_ Will said as Tony walked over and tried to put his hand on Will's shoulder and to his word, he went right through. _"Dammit, I was hoping the problem was over."_

"What about your body?" Fury asked.

 _"_ _I checked on it in the medbay and I'm still there. My body's fine and whatever impacts my body affects me here so I'm not sure what this is."_ Will said as Tony kept messing with him, pushing his hand through Will's head and body. _"Tony, would you please stop that?"_

"Sorry." Tony pulled his hand away

 _"_ _Anyway, I detected psychic tremors and found out that the scepter was emitting low-level psychic energy that was stimulating your limbic system and causing your aggression to act out. So, I sent out a psychic wave to counteract it and put you guys back to normal."_ Will told them.

"Your powers are impressive for a mortal. And I believe I have an explanation as to your appearance. It's an ability known as Astral Projection where the user projects their consciousness from their body. Loki has used it from time to time in our youth as have other gifted magical users in Asgard." Thor said as the computer beeped which indicated it found the Tesseract so Dr. Banner walked over to check the data.

 _"_ _Ok, so I know this ability but how do I get back into my body?"_ Will asked.

"Oh my god." Dr. Banner said as he looked at the data and saw the location of the Tesseract and where the portal would open. Before anyone could ask where the location was, Will's danger sense went off big time.

" _GET DOWN!"_ He shouted as a massive explosion shook the helicarrier and blew up the lab. The explosion knocked everyone to the ground or out of the room. Romanoff and Dr. Banner were blasted out of the lab and crashed down into the sub levels. The explosion destroyed part of the rear left turbine and damaged who knows what else.

"Put on the suit." Steve told Tony.

"Yeah." Tony replied as they left the lab.

All the technicians and analysts got to work and followed their training while the security team armed themselves. "HILL!" Fury shouted.

"External detonation. Number three engine is down. Can they get it running?" Hill ran over to a technician who was monitoring the status of the turbine. "Talk to me."

"Turbine looks mostly intact, but it's impossible to get out there to make repairs while we're in the air." The technician told her.

"If we won't lost one more engine, we won't be." She said as she contacted Fury. "Somebody's got to get outside and patch that engine."

"Stark, you copy that?" Fury asked.

"I'm on it." He replied.

"Coulson, initiate defensive lockdown in the detention section then get to the armory." Fury ordered. "Detmer, go topside and find out what's going on."

"On it!" He floated up through the floors of the helicarrier.

"Romanoff!" Fury shouted over the comms, hoping she would respond.

"We're ok." She said as she looked at Dr. Banner and saw him grunting in anger. The scepter had been knocked down next to them and the jewel was glowing. Romanoff wasn't a psychic but she guessed the jewel might be affecting him. "We're ok, right?"

Will floated up through the floors and popped his head out onto the flight deck to see a quinjet. He flew over to the quinjet and saw empty SHIELD gear containers so he rushed back down to the Director who was on the bridge. _"Director, unknown hostiles are wearing SHIELD gear! They'll blend in!"_

"Roger that. Find Romanoff and make sure Banner doesn't lose control!" Fury ordered as Will flew down through the floor and saw Romanoff with her leg pinned under a beam and Dr. Banner undergoing his Hulk transformation. Romanoff managed to pull her leg free but the Hulk was free as well.

 _"_ _Aw crap."_ Will said to himself as he tried to calm him down but his mind was so full of hate and anger…and there was something else there that was blocking him. Will figured it must be the scepter that did this to him. _"Hey, there buddy. I don't suppose you remember me? You know, human trying to help."_

 **[ROAR!]** _"_ _Guess not!"_ The Hulk charged at them but since Will was in Astra Projection he was like a ghost so the Hulk went right through him and chased after Romanoff. _"Hulk, please calm down! The scepter's doing this to you!"_

The Hulk just swung his arms and tried to crush him which did nothing but piss him off more. " **GHOSTY MAN INSULTS HULK! HULK SMASHES GHOSTY MAN!"** Hulk shouted as he was destroying the ship in an attempt to kill him but kept hitting nothing.

 _"_ _Calm down! I want to help you!"_ He tried to enter the Hulk's mind but all the rage and anger was like trying to navigate a mine field while wearing drunk goggles. The good thing about this was that the Hulk's attention was focused on him which let Romanoff slip away. Before the Hulk could destroy more of the ship, Thor tackled him into the jet repair bay and the two began to duke it out in a fist fight.

Will watched the two fighting which led to more of the helicarrier getting destroyed. He kept trying to break through the Hulk's mind but all the fighting made him angrier which made his job even harder. The two smashed into one of the empty labs and Thor was getting tossed around repeatedly when one of the escort jets opened fire on the Hulk, getting his attention. That led to the Hulk jumping from the carrier and destroying the jet but the explosion knocked Hulk to the ground.

 _"_ _Oh, that's going to hurt."_ Will said to himself as Thor quickly ran to the detention facility to make sure Loki didn't get out.

"We've got hostiles heading to the medical bay!" One of the agents reported over the intercom system.

" _My body!"_ Will quickly flew through the carrier and saw two of the imposter SHIELD agents gun down the doctors with no mercy. One of them then pointed his pistol right at Will's head and was ready to kill him then and there. _"NO!"_

Will acted on instinct and dove into his body. The mercenary pulled the hammer back and was ready to press the trigger when Will's eyes shot up, grabbed the pistol and moved it away from his face at the last second. The bullet hit his gurney so Will grabbed the merc's wrist, twisted it, grabbed the pistol slide and yanked it off and stabbed it into the merc's neck. He jumped from the gurney and used the merc's body as a shield as his friend unloaded his assault rifle at him. Will slid forward and kicked out the merc's leg, grabbed his wrist and took him to the ground before putting him in a triangle choke. The mercenary tried to get free but Will's grip was too strong and then with the right amount of force, he snapped the mercenary's neck like it was a toothpick.

He kicked the dead body to the side and got on all fours before a huge wave of nausea hit him and he puked up his guts. "Ugh. Ok, Astra Projection is cool, but being separated from your body for too long is bad." Will said to himself as he puked up one more time.

Edi beeped which indicated that Fury was contacting everyone on a SHIELD wide communication channel. _"Agent Coulson is down."_

 _"_ _Medical team is on its way to your location."_ An agent reported.

 _"_ _They're already here…they called it."_ Fury somberly told them.

Barton had been captured and was being looked over by Romanoff while Hill coordinated the clean-up and repair teams. Will, Tony, and Steve were sitting at the conference Table as Fury looked over some old playing cards stained with blood. They were mourning the loss of one of their own. For Will it was tough because Coulson has been there even before he became an agent. He was a friend and now he was gone.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never got you to sign them." Fury tossed the cards onto the table for them to see. Some of them were stained with blood. Steve reached over and took one of the cards and looked it over. "We're dead in the air up here. Our communications, location of the Cube, Banner, and Thor…I got nothing for you. I lost my one good eye. Maybe I had that coming."

Fury walked over to them. "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number, though because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark and Detmer know this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people and see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea. In heroes." Tony got up and walked out of the room. "Well, it's an old fashioned notion."

Will got up to follow Tony but stopped and looked back at Fury. "Get the communication system back up as quickly as you can and give the evacuation order for Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs." Will told him as Fury, Hill, and Steve were confused. "Short version, I had a vision and Loki plans to open up the portal over STARK Tower. Get communications up and order evacuations and the National Guard. I got a team to bring together. Cap, you coming?"

Steve nodded and got up to follow him. "And Director." Will said as Fury looked at him. "When I get back, you and I are going to have a talk."

"About what?" Fury asked.

"May, 1995 Los Angeles, California. Project Pegasus and the Flerken incident." Will said as Fury actually adopted a shocked expression. "I want answers when I get back."

Will and Steve left to go find Tony who was in the cell-room where Loki was and where Coulson died. Tony was just staring down the hole, figuring out his next move. "Tony." Will called out.

"Coulson was an idiot." Tony said.

"Why? For believing in us?" Steve asked.

"For taking on Loki alone." Tony corrected him.

"Coulson knew what he signed up. He went up against him knowing the risk." Will said.

"He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have…" Tony said.

"Believe me, Tony, no one would like to go over the situation constantly in their head to think of what could have happened if we acted differently but we can't." Will told him. "Sometimes there isn't a way out.

"Yeah, where have I heard that before?" Tony commented.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve asked Tony turned at him.

"We are not soldiers." He snapped at him before he calmed down a bit. "I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"And I'm not asking you two. Ok, everything that happened here today is as much his fault as it is Loki's but right now we need to regroup together or Coulson will have died for nothing." Will told him. "I know where Loki is and where he plans to open the portal. He plans on using the Arc reactor at STARK tower to power the portal device and an alien army will stampede through everything in their sights. SHIELD can't do anything and neither can the army so it's up to us."

Tony and Steve looked at Will and he made good points. Leave it to the kid to be the sensible one. "Coulson brought me into SHIELD years ago and I'm not going to betray his belief in me or this team by wallowing in my own self-pity and doing nothing." Will said as he looked at the two. "So, are you two old men going to sack up for a fight or does the kid have to do everything alone?"

Steve and Tony looked at one another and nodded. "All right, what's the plan?" Tony asked.

"I'm heading there now. I can fly and I'll try and stop Loki but if that doesn't work I'm going to need help. Get suited up and bring everything you got for a fight. Tony, you might need a new suit." Will said.

"Jarvis, did you hear the kid?" Tony spoke into his phone.

 _"_ _Sir, the Mark 7 is not yet ready for—""_ Then skip the spinning rims, we're on the clock here." Tony told him.

"All right, see you geezers there." Will left the room with a smirk on his face as he pulled up his hood and activated his mask.

Steve walked into Romanoff's where she was looking after Barton. "Time to go." He told her.

"Go where?" She asked.

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?" He asked. Barton walked out of the bathroom with a towel in his hands.

"I can." Barton said as Steve looked at Romanoff who nodded, he was ready.

"You got a suit?" Barton nodded in response. "Then suit up."

Captain America grabbed his shield, Hawkeye outfitted himself with an extra capacity quiver, Romanoff put on her Widow's bite gauntlets and Tony was in the engineering bay repairing the Mark 6 suit as best he could to make it to New York. Thor, who was on his own, summoned a bolt of lightning and donned his armor.

Fury was on the bridge looking at the cards as Hill walked up to him. "Agent Hill."

"Sir, those cards…they were in Coulson's locker, not in his jacket." Hill said.

"They needed the push." Fury said as Hill looked at him.

 _"_ _We have an unsanctioned departure from Bay 4!"_ The intercom system went off as Hill and Fury saw Aegis fly out of the Helicarrier in a hurry.

"Get our communications back up faster. I wanted them up half an hour ago. I want eyes on everything." Fury told her.

"Yes, sir." She replied and about 20 minutes later another announcement went off that another unsanctioned departure occurred from Bay 6 where Iron Man and a quinjet took off. It was up to the Avengers now to stop Loki.

Line Break xxxxx

 **Manhattan, New York City**

Aegis flew through the air at over Mach 1 and in about 5 minutes saw the Statues of Liberty come into view. He was nearing New York and hopefully would get there in time. **"Edi, has the evacuation already begun?"**

 _"_ _Yes, the outer boroughs are in the middle of evacuation as is Manhattan but that will take longer given the population density and traffic, of course."_ Edi replied, bringing up police chatter and progress of the evacuation out of the city via the tunnels or bridges.

 **"** **The one thing you can depend on is New York Traffic. Jarvis, please tell me we got lucky and you shut off the reactor in time and all I have to deal with is Loki?"** He hoped.

 _"_ _I'm afraid you're luck hasn't improved since Rook Island, Mr. Detmer."_ Jarvis informed him as Will flew through Manhattan to STARK tower where he saw Dr. Selvig and the Tesseract device all powered up. " _I shut down the reactor two minutes ago but I'm afraid it's too late. The device is now self-sustaining."_

 _"_ _I really need to see someone about my bad luck."_ He thought to himself as he hovered in the air by the device. **"Dr. Selvig, shut the device down! Loki's controlling you! You don't know what you're doing!"**

"It's too late. It's can't stop now. She wants to show us something! A new universe." Selvig shouted at him with crazy in his eyes.

 **"** **Ok, he's officially lost it."** Aegis attempted to crush the device with his telekinesis but a blue barrier flared up around the device and released a shockwave that knocked him back and knocked out Dr. Selvig.

 _"_ _The barrier around the device is made up a quantum tachyon energy preventing your telekinesis from affecting it. It's un-breachable."_ EDI told him.

 **"** **Why can't anything ever be easy?"** He asked himself when he saw Loki on the balcony of the top floor of the tower. **"Edi, Jarvis, work up a way to get through that barrier. It's time Loki is put in his place."**

He floated down to the platform and walked into Tony's private floor as Loki strolled in, all cocky and smug. "Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity?" Loki asked, hoping for a yes as Will retracted his mask.

"Uh, no. You're way past that. Personally, I'm ready to kick your ass right now and call it a day but seeing as how I am part of a huge bureaucratic organization, I have to at least ask one last time if you're willing to surrender." Will walked over to the bar in a fairly relaxed demeanor.

"Oh, you're funny and stalling me won't change anything." Loki told him.

"Well, I did as I was trained." Will reached over and grabbed a glass and a bottle of Tony's fancy scotch. "I think a nice drink before the ass-kicking starts is in order. And seeing as how I can't get drunk, it's no big deal."

Loki sneered at him and walked over to the window. "The Chitauri are coming. Nothing will change that. What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers." Will filled up the glass and downed in one gulp. "Oh, that is very good." He put the glass and bottle down on the table and sat on the counter. "I'll admit the name was a little too Saturday-morning Cartoon for me but considering my birthmother was the inspiration for the team…it's kind of grown on me. Besides, what else are you going to name Earth's Mightiest Heroes? The Super Friends? Defenders was not a bad idea, but I'll save that for another team."

"Yes, I've met them." Loki said which made Will chuckle a bit.

"The team can be a little difficult and you masterfully put them against one another with that scepter of yours. You put those kinds of egos and personalities together…well, it's like trying to make the Road Runner get along with Wile E Coyote. But we got back into a groove." Will joked. "Should we run down the list of the team? Let's: First off, Thor, the god of Thunder, rightful king of Asgard and your brother who is much nicer than you, by the way. Second, Tony Stark, Iron Man, genius, billionaire, playboy who will be developing technology we'll be using for the next century and created a super suit that could let him take over a small country. Third, Steve Rogers, the World War 2 super soldier who took down Hydra and saved the world. Fourth, Dr. Bruce Banner also known as the Hulk who is going to be very pissed at you and who would like nothing more than stomping your bones into dust. Fifth and Sixth, Black Widow and Hawkeye, two master assassins who are the peak of human potential and are ready for some payback. And your dumbass pissed off every single of them."

"That was the plan." Loki smirked.

"Kind of a stupid plan. That's the thing with you bad guys. You just lost to antagonize the hero when just killing us would be easier." Will told him as he jumped off the counter. "When they come, and they are…they're gonna want revenge."

"I have an army." Loki told him.

"We have a Hulk." Will shot back.

"Oh, I thought the beast had wondered off." Loki said.

"Oh, no he's just getting some air but you completely overstepped yourself. There will be no throne, no kingdom for you to rule, none of it." Will said in anger. "I may not be able to stop your army from invading but I can promise you one thing is that my team and I will do whatever it takes to avenge what you've done."

Loki walked up to Will and held up the scepter. "How will your friends have time for me when they're so busy fighting you?" Loki moved the scepter to touch his chest, but Will shot up his hand and grabbed the blade, stopping Loki from touching his heart. Loki tried to push and push, but Will wasn't budging, and began to feel the strain of pushing against the human. Will's hand was glowing blue and was using his psionic strength to over-power Loki and his telepathy to protect his mind from the scepter. Will's strength soon got to the point where his fingers began to dig into the blade and crack it.

"There's probably one other person I should have mentioned: me, William Alexander Danvers Detmer, Aegis, SHIELD Agent, Avenger, Inhuman, and the guy whose friend you killed." Will yanked the scepter out of Loki's hand and threw it into the wall. He pushed kicked Loki square in the chest and sent him crashing into the wall with enough force to make a massive hole. To Loki, it felt like getting punched by Thor. Will raised his hand and Loki was pulled out of the wall and towards Will who clotheslined him in the neck. Loki fell on his back and grabbed his throat in pain as Will picked him up and threw him into the ceiling. Loki dropped to the floor as Will picked him up and kneed him in the gut, grabbed his left arm and broke it, took out his Predator knife and stabbed Loki in the side making the Asgardian shout out in pain. He kneed him in the face and kicked him up into the ceiling again. Loki hit the ground face first as Will saw the blood on the knife.

"Guess Asgardians really aren't gods, just humans with god complexes." He picked Loki up and chokeslammed him into the ground one last time. Loki groaned in pain as Will began generating telekinetic energy into his right fist. His fist glowed blue and the air around it began to distort. He reared his fist back and punched Loki in the stomach and the force sent him through the floor and crashing into the floor below them. Will jumped down the hole he made and looked at Loki lying in the ground in shock, too much in pain to even move or speak. "That was for Phil Coulson, you son of a bitch."

Will was brought out of his little victory moment by a loud boom that came from outside. He flew up and landed on the balcony to see to see a beam of energy shoot up into the sky and a form a portal. Once it opened dozens of Chitauri attack gliders poured out into New York airspace in a short amount of time. Will watched and the portal was open for less then maybe six seconds and there were already a hundred.

"Ok, alien army. Time to go to work." He pulled up his hoodie and activated his mask and flew straight up to the portal just as a pod shot out of STARK Tower and flew east.

One of the Chitauri commanders gave a battle cry and began opening fire at the city with most of them shooting at Aegis with energy based weapons. Aegis raised a force field around himself with one hand and used his other to send out force pushes that destroyed the Chitauri gliders but there were a lot. The energy beams hit his force field and were stronger than any human based weapons he had encountered up to that point but it was staying strong. He swiped his hand and destroyed a dozen gliders with a force wave but more kept coming and they began diverging to the side and heading towards the buildings and civilians.

 **"** **Dammit!"** Aegis flew down and chased after some Chitauri gliders that did a strafing run by Grand Central Terminal, destroying cars and sending the civilians away in fright. Will flung an empty taxi into the air and some Chitauri crashed into it but he had to get busy. More Chitauri began attacking civilians who panicked and ran away as fast as they could or rushed into buildings for safety. Aegis flew around a building and fired two telekinetic blasts that blasted 8 gliders. He flew through the air with some Chitauri giving chase when they were blasted to pieces and he saw Iron Man fly up in his new Mark 7 armor.

" ** _Hey, kid. Looks like you could use some help."_** Iron Man said.

 **"** **Well, I've never been one to say no to a helping hand."** Aegis replied as Iron Man nodded.

 ** _"_** ** _All right, let's get to work."_** The two split apart at an intersection as the Chitauri chased after them. Iron Man fired his repulsor blasts and took down alien gliders one after another in quick succession. He flew up and activated his targeting computer. His shoulder pads opened up to reveal 48 mini-rockets that locked-on and killed more Chitauri. Aegis saw some Chitauri giving chase so he stopped suddenly and threw up a barrier that they crashed into and killed themselves. He picked up another empty car and used his telekinesis to disassemble it into dozens of metal pieces and used them like projectiles as he shot down more Chitauri gliders like he was skeet shooting. Once he ran out, he threw out his hand and the blue telekinetic energy formed into hard, bullet-shaped projectiles. He aimed and shot them at a charging group of Chitauri and blew them up into pieces.

 **"** **God I love new powers."** He said to himself as he sent out a psionic explosion shockwave that destroyed another 20 gliders. His kills were likely in the triple digits at this point but the Chitauri were just endless. You kill one, two more fly through the portal to take its place.

He flew back over to the tower raised a force field over the portal to try and stop the Chitauri from pouring into earth. It worked as a few of the unlucky ones crashed into his barrier but once they saw the portal was blocked, they began unleashing hell on it with everything they had. Aegis refocused his attention on keeping the barrier strong and canceled the forcefield he had on himself. Iron Man kept the Chitauri busy for a bit, but it wouldn't be too long before they noticed what he was doing. He saw Thor land on the roof by the device and tried to smash it with his hammer, but the barrier unleashed a shockwave and knocked him back.

 **"** **THOR!"** The god of Thunder looked up to see Aegis floating in the sky, attempting to keep the Chitauri from entering through the portal. **"The device has a barrier around it! It won't bust open! Focus on the Chitauri! There are people getting hit in the crossfire!"**

"What about Loki?!" Thor asked.

 **"** **Trust me, he's not going anywhere!"** An energy beam zipped past his head, so he turned and saw four Chitauri gliders heading straight for him. He threw out his left hand and destroyed them with a force push. With his attention and focus split on keeping up the Chitauri from entering earth and protecting himself, the barrier over the portal weakened a bit which allowed some to slip through and once they did, they attacked him. An energy beam hit him in the chest and sent him flying into STARK Tower and crashing onto the balcony. Aegis's barrier over the portal dissipated and the Chitauri resumed their invasion.

Thor fired a bolt of lightning that zapped the gliders and sent them crashing into the STARK sign of the tower. He then jumped down to help Aegis. Will groaned in pain as he sat up and rubbed his chest, seeing that the energy beam had charred parts of his jacket, but it was still intact. Vibranium is just a godsend.

Thor held out his hand and Aegis took it as the god of thunder helped him back onto his feet. "Are you all right?" Thor asked and he nodded in response.

 **"** **I'm good. I've got Edi working on a solution to close the portal so until that time we need to keep these things from leaving the island."** Aegis reached into his belt and took out an earpiece. " **Here, take this. It'll let us stay in contact."**

Thor took the earpiece and put it in his ear. "Best of luck, my friend." Thor spun his hammer and flew into the city to get into the fight. Aegis jumped off the balcony and flew towards the ground before landing on a passing Chitauri glider. He unsheathed his forearm blades and sliced the chain holding the gunner in place and kicked him off, sending him falling to his death. He then swiped at the pilot and took the alien's head clean off. Aegis took two explosive pellets and attached them to the glider before steering into a group of Chitauri and jumping out at the last second. He flew away from a big explosion when Edi detected a quinjet entering Manhattan.

 _"_ _Will, we're on your 3 o'clock heading northeast!"_ Romanoff told him.

 **"** **What took you so long, did you stop for coffee? Swing up Park and don't miss!"** Aegis told him as he flew towards Park street with a horde of Chitauri chasing him, seeing him as the main threat. He flew down the street as machine gun fire came in from the left and gunned down the Chitauri.

 _"_ _Will, we have more incoming."_ Edi reported as his map showed more Chitauri heading to his location.

 **"** **Any update on how to get through the barrier around the Tesseract?"** He asked as he destroyed 9 more gliders with a telekinetic energy blast.

 _"_ _Still working on it."_ She told him.

 **"** **All right, let's keep our guests occupied."** Aegis summoned up a telekinetic barrier and barreled through a group of Chitauri like a wrecking ball. Barton piloted the quinjet in hover mode as Romanoff shot down glider after glider with the minigun. Some Chitauri energy blasts hit the quinjet but Barton did his best to keep her flying until one blast hit the left turbine and it began spinning out of control.

Barton struggled to keep her level but the quinjet began to rapidly descend to the ground. They prepared for a crash landing when Aegis flew by and stopped it from hitting the side of a building. Romanoff and Barton sighed in relief as Aegis lowered the quinjet to the street and opened up the ramp.

"Thanks for that." Cap said as he, Romanoff and Barton walked out of the quinjet ready for the fight. "We've got to get back up there."

They heard a loud booming noise come from the portal and saw a giant snake-like Chitauri Leviathan fly out. The Leviathan roared as it flew to the ground above them so they could see it closer and saw it was armored. As it flew down the street, the side canopies on the armor opened up and Chitauri shock troops were launched onto the side of buildings or crashed straight into them.

 **"** **You guys see that right?"** Aegis asked and they all nodded. **"Right, just making sure."**

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Cap asked.

 ** _"_** ** _Seeing, still working on believing. Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"_** He flew over to the Leviathan and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

 **"** **Not yet."** Aegis told him.

 ** _"_** ** _Just keep me posted."_** He replied. He then had Jarvis begin scanning the monster. **_"Jarvis, find me a soft spot."_**

The Chitauri on the side of the buildings began firing at Aegis, Cap, Widow, and Hawkeye so they took cover. Aegis took out his two Predator Shuriken and threw them into the air. They circled through the air alongside the buildings and sliced the Chitauri clean in two before circling around back to Aegis who caught them. He threw them one more time and cleaned up the side of the buildings.

"We've still got civilians trapped up here." Hawkeye said as he fired an arrow up into the air and killed a Chitauri glider pilot with a headshot and sent the glider crashing into the ground.

Cap looked down the street at the police who did their best to try and protect the civilians but were overwhelmed. "They're fish in a barrel down there."

 **"** **Edi, what's the status on the National Guard?"** Aegis asked.

 _"_ _National Guard units are still an hour out of the city."_ Edi informed him.

An energy beam whizzed past their heads because a group had converged on the street and were heading towards them. Aegis held his hand out towards the empty cars on the street and began to disassemble them into pieces. After a few seconds, he rearranged them into a shoulder-high barrier across the street to give Barton and Romanoff some extra cover. He lifted the quinjet off the ground and moved it into position by the barrier and spun up the mini-gun, mowing down the Chitauri but more kept coming. One of the aliens blasted the mini-gun into the pieces so Aegis got another idea.

 **"** **Hawkeye, explosive arrow!"** Aegis threw the quinjet at the aliens as Hawkeye fired an explosive arrow and expertly hit the fuel tank location, blowing the thing up and taking the Chitauri with it.

"We got this. It's good, go." Widow told Cap.

"Do you think you can hold them off?" Cap asked Hawkeye as more Chitauri began to show up.

"Captain…" Barton pressed a few buttons on his bow and his quiver attached a special arrowhead to one of his arrows. "…it would be my genuine pleasure."

He popped up from the cover Aegis made and fired the arrow, hitting a Chitauri dead in the face. The arrow head fired a barrage of bullets in a circle that killed three more. **"He's got this."** Aegis took his gun off his belt and his Predator Combi stick as well. **"Romanoff, here. Take these and don't lose them."**

She nodded as she fired at the Chitauri with her twin Glocks while Hawkeye went to help the civilians who were trapped. Aegis unclipped another explosive pellet and threw it at the Chitauri, killing a few more. **"Want a lift, Cap?"**

"Send me flying." He replied and ran to the bridge.

 **"** **Tuck and roll!"** Aegis lifted Cap off the ground and flung him through the air. Cap spun and rolled forward as he hit the ground, using the momentum to jump and flip forward and made his way over to the police. Aegis flew into the air to get back into the fight while Hawkeye and Widow defended themselves against a group of Chitauri.

"Just like Budapest all over again!" She said to him.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently." Hawkeye told her as he hit headshot after headshot.

Cap vaulted and jumped over empty cars and rubble, running as fast as his super soldier legs could take him through the battlefield. A whole squadron of police cars and officers had set up a small barricade at the end of a street and were doing their best to engage the alien force but they were outgunned and had no idea what was going on.

A police lieutenant rushed over to his sergeant to let him know what he learned. "It's gonna be an hour before the National Guard arrive!" He shouted as they ducked to avoid some energy blasts.

"National Guard? Does the Army know what's happening here?" His sergeant asked.

"Do we?" Both officers were startled when Cap landed on the hood of a police vehicle.

"You need men in these buildings. There are people inside and they're going to be running right into the line of fire. You take them to the basements or through the subway. You keep them off the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 39th street." Cap ordered.

"Why the hell should I take orders from you?" The sergeant asked when a Chitauri strafing run blew up some cars. Two Chitauri jumped down onto the car with Cap to kill him. He bashed one away with his shield and quickly blocked energy blasts from the other before punching it away. He turned and bashed the other Chitauri in the face and stomped on its neck before turning around and slicing the Chitauri's energy gun off its hand and knocking it away. Cap looked at them and they quickly got to work. "I need men in those buildings. Lead the people down and away from the streets. We're gonna set up a perimeter as far back as 30th street."

"Here son, see what you can do with this." Cap tossed the Chitauri gun to the lieutenant who immediately recoiled seeing the severed alien arm.

Iron Man flew around a corner to see the Leviathan so he unloaded a round of flares that caught its attention. He flew down the street as the Leviathan roared and turned around, one of its armored wings dug into the side of a building and dropped some rubble on the street. ** _"Ok, we got its attention. So what the hell is step two?"_** He asked as he quickly flew away.

 **"** **Tony, I see you at my three o'clock. Come up 46** **th** **and head straight at me."** Aegis told him as he flew down the street.

 ** _"_** ** _You got a plan, kid?"_** He asked as Aegis took out the two Vibranium orbs from his belt.

 **"** **I've got 51% of a plan."** Aegis replied.

 ** _"_** ** _Good enough for me. I'm coming at you."_** Iron Man said and turned on 46th street with the Leviathan right on his tail.

Aegis took the two orbs and morphed them together into a large 8-foot Demon Wind Shuriken. He got the idea from watching the Naruto anime and thought it would be a good idea for dealing with this ** _. "I see you kid. I'm coming right at you."_** Iron Man said, flying down the street with the Leviathan right behind him.

 **"** **All right, head straight at me and on my signal dive straight down."** Aegis flew straight at him and began spinning the massive Vibraniun shuriken like it was a rotary blade.

 ** _"_** ** _Don't miss, kid."_** Iron man said and sped up.

 **"** **Get ready…"** Aegis and Iron Man were getting closer and closer and when they were about 20 meters apart he acted. **"NOW!"**

Iron Man dove down quickly while the Leviathan kept flying forward. **"Eat this!"** Aegis threw the Demon Wind Shuriken at the alien like a flying buzz saw. With its size and speed, the Leviathan never stood a chance. It opened its mouth and the shuriken sliced through it and its entire body and came out the other side. The Leviathan crashed onto the ground, split down the middle as Iron Man hovered over to Aegis. Aegis recalled the shuriken back to his hand and caught the handle. **"Make that 100% of a plan."**

 ** _"_** ** _Nicely done, kid."_** Iron Man said as they saw they had more Chitauri incoming. Aegis quickly separated the shuriken back into the two Vibranium orbs and shot them into the air like bullets and they ping-ponged off the Chitauri gliders. The Vibranium moving at such a rapid speed decimated the gliders and looked like a deadly game of ping-pong. There were easily 30 gliders and now they were all scraps and dead aliens. **_"Ok, now you're just showing off."_**

The two orbs returned to Aegis. **"Can I just say how awesome I am?"** He asked as the two got back into the fight. He flew around a corner with the two Vibranium orbs floating around him like he had his own energy field. He saw another group of Chitauri heading straight for him so he sent the orbs out and destroyed them.

Aegis saw a car swerve off the street and drive down an alleyway when he noticed a Chitauri soldier on the roof of a building. It fired at the car with his energy rifle so he flew down and tackled the alien off the roof and they crashed onto the car by accident. He quickly flipped off the roof, grabbed the Chitauri by the neck and ripped his head off with his bare hands. Two Chitauri entered the alley and fired their guns at him and the car so he quickly raised a shield. He looked back at the car and saw a man, woman, and an eleven-year old boy wearing glasses with an Iron Man shirt on. Aegis threw one of his Predator shuriken and it sliced the heads off the Chitauri in one throw before coming back to his hand. He flicked it twice and put it back into his belt. He looked back and saw the kid looking at him in awe, wonder, and maybe a smidge of fear.

 **"** **You…probably shouldn't have seen that."** He said. He walked over and ripped off the car doors so the family could get out. " **Ok, it's not safe on the streets. Get to the subway and stay underground."**

"Thank you." The man thanked him as EDI's facial recognition identified the man as _Benjamin Parker._

 **"** **Don't mention it."** Aegis replied. He helped the kid out of the car when he saw a backpack with the name _Peter Parker_ stitched on. It was stuck under the seat so he grabbed it and handed it to the kid. **"Here you go, kid. Don't want to lose that."**

"Thank you." May Parker replied as he nodded when he heard an explosion nearby.

 **"** **The 10th street tunnel is just ahead. Go now!"** Aegis told them and flew up in the air and got back into the fight.

Back on the ground, Widow and Hawkeye were busy dealing with more Chitauri. A constant barrage of energy blasts had ripped some holes in the barrier Aegis brought up. The Chitauri closed in as Hawkeye shot another dead with a headshot and Romanoff fired the last clip in the HK pistol Will gave her. A Chitauri tried to attack her from behind but she ducked and sliced its knee with her knife. She got on top and put it in a triangle choke and zapped it in the neck with her bracelets, killing it and grabbing the energy spear it dropped. Barton sweep-kicked a Chitauri and stabbed it in the heart with one of his arrows and then ducked from an energy spear and smacked another Chitauri in the face before firing an arrow behind his back and nailed a headshot on a glider pilot that was flying by.

Romanoff flipped off a car and stabbed a Chitauri with the energy spear before spinning and stabbing another that tried to take her from behind. She took one her explosive pellets and jammed it into the alien's neck before spin kicking it into another and the two exploded. She impaled another Chitauri and forced it back before pressing the trigger and blasting it in half. She butterfly flipped and slashed more Chitauri as Barton slid forward and fired an arrow at a sniper before quickly turning and killing another Chitauri who tried to blindside him. Romanoff stabbed a Chitauri into a car but then quickly backed away to avoid having her hands sliced off. She pulled out the combi stick Will gave her and pressed the button and the spear tip shot out into Chitauri's face. She kicked its dead body off and sliced through a Chitauri energy spear with ease and sliced its head off. She looked and saw the metal on the spear was definitely not from this planet. Leave it to Will to have an alien spear in this kind of situation.

Cap jumped into the fray and shield bashed two Chitauri before smacking another away and throwing his shield and slicing the head off of another alien. The shield ricocheted back to his hand as the remaining Chitauri were zapped with bolts of lightning and Thor flew down and landed in front of them.

"What's the story upstairs?" Cap asked.

"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable." Thor told him when Aegis floated down, landed next to them and deactivated his mask.

"Thor's right. Even I can't touch it. Edi and Jarvis are still working up a solution." Will told them.

 ** _"_** ** _The kid's right, we've got to deal with these guys first."_** Iron Man radioed in.

"How do we do this?" Widow asked.

"As a team." Cap told them.

"I have some unfinished business with Loki." Thor said while Hawkeye retrieved some of the arrows he's used.

"Yeah? Well, get in line." Barton said. Will held his hand out and the rest of the spent arrows in the area moved in front of Barton, giving him his full arsenal.

"Trust me, Loki will keep for now. He's currently smashed into the floor up in the tower. He's not going anywhere but these things keep coming." Will said.

"Will's right. These things are still focused on us and we need to make sure it stays that way or these things could run wild. We'll have Stark and Will up top. They'll need us to…" Cap stopped his sentence when they heard the rumble of an engine and saw Dr. Banner ride up on an old motorcycle.

"So, this all seems horrible." Banner said.

"I've seen worse." Widow said as Banner looked at her.

"Sorry." He told her.

"No, we could use a little worse." She said as Will contacted Tony.

"Tony, Dr. Banner showed up." Will told him.

 ** _"_** ** _Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."_** Iron Man flew into view with another Leviathan right on his tale.

"Oh, crap." Will morphed his two Vibranium orbs into the Demon Wind Shuriken while Thor readied his hammer.

"Uh, I don't see how that's a party." Widow said as Dr. Banner walked towards the Leviathan.

"Dr. Banner…you two might have a strained relationship but now might be a good time to kiss and make-up and bring him out." Will said to him.

"Trust me, Will…." Dr. Banner turned to him. "He's been ready for this."

Dr. Banner began morphing into the Hulk with ease right in front of them and the Hulk punched the Leviathan in the face, killing it and slowing it down. The force of his punch caused the Leviathan's to skid to a stop and the tail to come up over the top like a fulcrum.

" ** _Hold on!"_** Iron flew by and fired a rocket at an exposed part of the Leviathan. It blew the Leviathan into pieces as Will summoned a force field around the team to protect them from the explosion and any falling debris. The corpse of the Leviathan plopped onto the ground and all nearby Chitauri let out battle cries over their fallen and were more determined than ever to kill the humans.

The team grouped up together as the Hulk let out a massive roar, Hawkeye loaded an arrow on his bowstring, Thor spun his hammer, Widow loaded another pistol clip into her Glock and held the combi stick ready, Captain America fixed his shield on his arm, Aegis activated his mask and began glowing blue , and Iron Man landed with them.

 **The Avengers were now together**

The portal in the sky made another booming sound and more Chitauri gliders arrived along with more Leviathans. The fight was only beginning.

"Guys." Widow brought their attention to the portal.

 **"** **What's the plan, Cap?"** Aegis asked. Steve contemplated the situation and came up with his battle plan.

"All right, listen up. Until we can close that portal our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you have the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out you turn it back or you turn it to ash." Cap told them.

"Want to give me a lift?" Hawkeye asked Iron Man.

 ** _"_** ** _Right. Better clench up, Legolas."_** Iron Man grabbed his shoulder and flew him up to the roof of the building.

"Thor, Will, you two have got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down as best you can." Cap told them.

 **"** **Roger that. Let's go, Thor."** Aegis and Thor flew up towards the portal.

Cap looked at Romanoff. "You and me, we stay here on the ground. Keep the fighting here. And Hulk." Hulk turned to him. "Smash."

Hulk smirked and then super-jumped into the air and smashed some Chitauri soldiers into the side of a building. He jumped to the building across the street and did the same thing. A Chitauri soldier blasted him but it did nothing and the Hulk slammed its head into the wall before grabbing the rest and throwing them away like ragdolls. He jumped high into the air as some gliders smashed into him but it just annoyed him as he punched a glider that was coming at him.

Thor flew up and landed on the top of the Chrysler Building. He raised his hammer to the sky and storm clouds appeared and soon a bolt of lightning struck him and the building. Aegis floated in the air and began glowing blue as he concentrated psychic energy into his hands. If Fury had been there, he would have had Déjà vu because Will looked exactly like Carol did all those years ago. Once he generated enough energy he unleashed a massive telekinetic energy blast more powerful than anything he fired before. Thor fired his lightning bolt and both beams destroyed Chitauri gliders but once they got close they combined together into a bright blue crackling energy beam. The beam obliterated 50 gliders and 5 Leviathans with ease.

The Battle for New York had just begun.

Line Break xxxxx

 **Helicarrier**

Back over at the helicarrier, Fury and all the SHIELD agents were watching the news coverage on the invasion and the efforts of the Avengers. Fury watched news and camera coverage of Aegis in action and knew he made the right choice in having him on the team. Hill then walked over with a dower face.

"Sir, the Council is on." Hill told him. Fury was not looking forward to whatever they had to say and quickly activated their teleconference to get it over with. They were aware of the situation and wanted Director Fury to scramble a jet and launch a nuclear missile at the city but Fury was having none of it.

 _"_ _Director Fury, the Council has made a decision."_ Councilwoman Hawley informed him.

"I recognize the Council has made a decision. But given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it." Fury told them.

 _"_ _Director, you're closer than any of our subs. You scramble that jet…"_ "That is the island of Manhattan, Councilman. Until I'm certain my team can't hold it, I will not order a nuclear strike against a civilian population." Fury told him.

 _"_ _If we don't hold them here, we lost everything."_ Councilman Mallick said.

"If I send that bird out we already have." Fury ended that conversation.

 **Manhattan, New York City**

Back in New York city, the fight was in full swing as all of the Avengers were giving it their all against the invading army. Aegis flew around a corner and fired more telekinetic bullets and mowed down another group of Chitauri. "Will, you've got another group at your six o'clock." Hawkeye told him as Aegis send out a massive force wave and crushed them all. He flew down the street and jumped onto a glider and quickly killed the pilot and gunner with his forearm blades when he noticed odd electrical equipment on the Chitauri brains. He quickly did a mental download and got some important information.

 **"** **Ok, guys I got some good news and bad news."** Aegis crashed the glider into another one and fired an energy blast at another glider group. " **The good news is that all the Chitauri are linked mentally. They have some kind of neural link in their brains that allows them to communicate. The good news for us is if we destroy the master signal then they all die."**

"Great, so where's the signal?" Widow asked as she skewered another alien with the combi stick.

 **"** **That's the bad news."** Aegis said and destroyed another squadron of gliders with his Vibranium orbs. **"It's through that portal and deep in space. Unless one of us can magically breathe with no oxygen or survive the pressure of deep space, we need to think of some way to cut out that signal."**

 ** _"_** ** _Jarvis, get to work on that."_** Iron Man told him as he blasted another glider.

"Stark, you got a lot of strays sniffing your tail." Hawkeye fired another arrow and killed another pilot.

 ** _"_** ** _I'm just trying to keep them off the streets."_** Iron Man replied as he flew around a corner.

"Well, they can't bank worth a damn." Hawkeye quickly fired an arrow to his right without looking and blew up a glider. "Find a tight corner."

 ** _"_** ** _I will roger that."_** Iron Man replied. Hawkeye aimed his arrow and hit a glider. The arrowhead leaked phosphorus and melted the glider in two, causing it to crash.

Iron Man slowed down and blasted another glider before speeding up around a corner where some gliders crashed into buildings. He quickly did a 180 and some unlucky Chitauri crashed. " ** _Oh, boy."_** He flew down a narrow side alley and the confined space caused the Chitauri to crash into one another. Iron Man flew out the other side with no aliens chasing him. " ** _Nice call. What else you got?"_**

"Well, Thor's taking on a squadron down on 6th." Hawkeye told him as Jarvis brought up the map.

" ** _And he didn't invite me."_** Iron Man sped up to 6th street.

A Leviathan turned a corner and flew alongside a corporate building. The employees inside backed away from the windows in fear when they all heard rumbling. They all shouted in fear and ran away as the Hulk charged through the floor of the building, jumped through the window and grabbed the Leviathan's mouth. Hulk yanked and pulled the Leviathan away from the building but one of its wings crashed through the glass windows of the building. Aegis flew by and morphed his orbs into the Demon Wind Shuriken and threw it at the Leviathan, slicing it clean in two. He flew down to the ground when the Hulk looked at him and growled.

 ** _"_** ** _Hulk remembers Puny Man. Puny Man helps Banner. Puny Man try to help Hulk. Puny Man strong."_** Hulk said as Aegis nodded in response. He looked at the split body of the Leviathan and got an idea. He held his hand out and removed the armor and began to merge them together to form a giant battle axe and put it in Hulk's hand.

 **"** **Enjoy yourself, Hulk. I'm well into the triple digits. You've got some catching up to do."** Aegis said which made Hulk smirked.

 ** _"_** ** _Hulk likes Puny Man."_** Hulk jumped into the air and sliced a glider in two. Aegis turned and saw another horde of Chitauri gliders closing in on him. Aegis flew forward and held the shuriken in front of him and began spinning it very fast. He flew at the gliders as the spinning shuriken acted like a boat or airplane propeller and chewed up any Chitauri that got in his way. He stopped in the air and threw the shuriken, watching it slice through glider after glider with ease before returning to his hand.

Aegis flew down Time Square and saw the Chitauri blasting the New Year's Eve ball. **"You don't screw with the New Year's ball."** Aegis growled and threw his shuriken and destroyed the gliders when he saw a massive digital billboard come loose. It would have fell and crush some civilians so he rushed over and stopped it. He lifted the billboard into the air used it like a giant bat to destroy more gliders before putting it back onto the ground.

Romanoff sliced off a Chitauri head with the combi stick and threw another explosive pellet at a group of Chitauri and blew them up. She rolled forward and stabbed a Chitauri in the leg before zapping in the back of the neck with her bracelets. She turned and readied the spear but saw it was Cap and lowered it. She leaned against a car to catch her breath. "Captain, none of this is going to mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal."

"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it." He told her.

"Well, maybe it's not about guns." She said, making a valid point. He saw more Chitauri arrive down the street, blocking her entrance to the tower.

"If you want to get up there, you're going to need a ride." He said as Romanoff saw some gliders heading their way.

"I got a ride." She pressed a button on the stick and retracted the spear before putting in her belt and walked to the other side of the street. Cap looked up and saw what her idea was. "I could use a boost, though."

"Are you sure about this?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's gonna be fun." She ran forward, jumped off the car and landed on the shield. Cap pushed her into the air and she grabbed onto a speeding glider. He smirked when he ducked under an energy blast and saw the Chitauri closing in.

 **"** **Cap, tuck and roll!"** Aegis shouted as Cap jumped into the air. Aegis flew above and grabbed his hand, spun around and threw Cap towards the Chitauri. Cap tucked and rolled with his shield out front and bashed into the aliens like a bowling ball. He rolled from the impact and spin kicked a Chitauri across the street and bashed another in the head. Aegis flipped forward and landed in a crouch, unleashing a psychic shockwave that knocked the Chitauri back. Aegis separated the massive shuriken into two giant blades and began slicing and dicing while Cap bashed with his shield. Aegis decapitated another Chitauri and then did a butterfly spin as Cap threw his shield under him which ricocheted off the ground and bashed into two Chitauri. Aegis tossed one of the swords to Cap who engaged more of the Chitauri as the shield bounced back to Aegis and grabbed it. He bashed one Chitauri in the head and sliced another in half before throwing the shield into a Chitauri who tried to attack Cap from behind. Cap grabbed his shield and kicked the dead Chitauri away before throwing the sword in the air. Aegis grabbed the sword and morphed into a giant spear and threw it down the street, skewering four Chitauri and pinning them up against a building.

He took out his Predator Shuriken and into the air as Iron Man came barreling down and ran over some Chitauri before stopping and blasting some aliens alongside Cap. He fired a repulsor beam at Cap who reflected it with his shield and hit a group of Chitauri. Aegis caught his shuriken, turned and pointed his sword forward as Iron Man fired his unibeam. The unibeam split in two down the middle when it hit the sword and diverged around Aegis and blasted two Chitauri. Iron Man flew up the side of the building, knocking some Chitauri off as Hawkeye scored headshot after headshot. He ducked under an energy blast and fired an arrow at the pilot of a glider and hit it in the head, causing it to crash into a Leviathan. On the Leviathan, Thor and Hulk where bashing and busting alien after alien. The two heavy hitters were making mincemeat of the Chitauri. Hulk broke the armor of the Leviathan, ripped off a piece and stabbed it into the large snake's head before Thor finished it off with a lightning-infused hammer smash. The Leviathan screeched out and crashed into Grand Central Station. The civilians in the station ran away in fear as Hulk and Thor caught their breath for a second…when Hulk punched Thor into the wall and huffed, probably still pissed about their fight on the helicarrier.

Aegis flew around the Empire State building and blasted more gliders before throwing the Demon Wind Shuriken and destroying more. _"Will, the National Guard has arrived and are setting up checkpoints all throughout the city."_ Edi informed him.

 **"** **Find me the nearest one."** He said as Edi plotted out a course and the closest was near the 42 street Station-Bryant Park subway stop. He flew above and saw two squadrons of National Guard shooting at the aliens and helping civilians into the subway station. Aegis saw a Leviathan closing in, so he threw the Demon Wind Shuriken and sliced its head off before landing by the soldiers and sending out a psionic shockwave and destroyed more gliders. **"Aegis of SHIELD, who's the ranking officer?"**

"Captain Menendez." Captain Menendez stepped forward. "What's the situation?"

 **"** **All out invasion. Send teams into the buildings and escort the civilians into the basement or the subways. Keep them off the streets. Have your men set up firing lines along the streets and aim high at about 20 meters. These things come in strafing runs so unload hell quickly and aim for the pilots in front or the glowing sections on the gliders, they're the most volatile. If you have heat-seekers, use them. And have any secondary units use the alleyways to move through the city, the Chitauri aren't able to maneuver in there."** Aegis told him as the Captain nodded. Aegis flew back into the air and got back into the fight.

Cap was three blocks away, wrestling with a Chitauri before kicking it off and slamming his shield into its head, killing it. "Captain, the bank on 42nd, past Madison. They've cornered a lot of civilians in there." Barton told him.

"I'm on it." Cap fixed his shield and made his way to the bank.

Inside the bank, easily a hundred civilians were corned with Chitauri on the second floor, holding them at gunpoint. One of the Chitauri took out a small box and pressed a button and it began beeping. Cap dove through an open window and threw his shield, hitting the Chitauri in the face and causing it to drop the bomb. The other two fired at Cap who dove behind a desk for cover. He kicked the desk and sent it slamming into them, knocking one to the ground and the other against the railing. Cap rushed over, punched the alien in the gut and snapped its neck before tossing it over the railing and onto the group.

"Everyone, clear out!" Cap shouted as a Chitauri grabbed him from behind and yanked his cowl off. Cap slammed it in the side when Aegis flew into the window and threw three of his flechettes into the back of its head, killing it. Cap kicked it off as the last Chitauri got back up and fired at them. The beeping on the bomb increased rapidly, indicating it was about to go off.

 **"** **CAP!"** Aegis shouted as Cap grabbed his shield and the two ran to the window. The Chitauri grabbed the bomb and was about to throw it at them when it went off with a massive explosion. Aegis grabbed Cap and put up a forcefield around them, that while it protected them from the blast the impact alone sent them out the window. They flew out the window as Cap crashed onto the car and Aegis hit the pavement. Both of the super soldiers groaned in pain from the impact and the physical exhaustion the two were feeling. Even though they had superhuman endurance, the two had been fighting at high intensity for two hours non-stop against aliens. Any normal soldier wouldn't have even lasted 30 minutes doing what they do. The two were super soldiers but fighting terrorists or enemy agents was easy compared to flying aliens. Aegis got up off the ground and held his hand out to Cap who took it and he helped him off the car. **"You ok?"**

"Yeah, you?" Cap asked and Aegis nodded in response.

 **"** **Just getting my second wind."** Aegis said as Romanoff came over the radio.

"Will, I could use a little help!" She shouted.

 **"** **I'm on it."** He flew into the air and made his way to her. His mask zoomed in and he saw she was piloting a Chitauri glider with four other ones chasing her. He flew straight at them and blasted them to pieces with his telekinetic blasts. She maneuvered the glider over to the Stark tower and jumped, rolling from the impact, and landing safely on the roof.

"Thanks." She said as Aegis flew down 6th Avenue and continued blasting, slicing, and smashing gliders. She walked over to the portal device and began contemplating how to deactivate it.

"The scepter." She heard. She turned and saw Dr. Selvig on the ground.

"Doctor." Romanoff saw him and he looked worse for wear.

"Loki's scepter. The energy." He said. "The Tesseract can't fight but you can't protect against yourself."

"It's not your fault. You didn't know what you were doing." She told him as he looked at her with remorse.

"Actually, I think I did. I built in a safety to cut their power source." He told her as she realized what he was trying to tell her.

"Loki's scepter." She said as he nodded.

"It may be able to close the portal." Selvig turned and looked at Tony's private floor where he saw it embedded in the wall. "And I'm looking right at it."

The fighting continued on and the Avengers were beginning to lose their steam. Thor was on a glider as he bashed the two Chitauri gunners and killed the pilot. The glider swerved in the air a bit and he was heading towards a building when a Leviathan crashed through and knocked the god of thunder away. Iron Man flew alongside the monster and used his wrist laser to try and penetrate the armor, but it wasn't working.

 _"_ _Sir, we will lose power before we penetrate that shell."_ Jarvis informed him.

He had to come up with another idea, so he sped up, turned around and flew right at the Leviathan. **_"Jarvis…you ever hear the tale of Jonah?"_** He asked.

 _"_ _I wouldn't consider him a role model."_ Jarvis replied as the knee-caps on the armor opened up to reveal rockets. Iron Man sped up and flew right into the Leviathan's mouth. He barreled through the flesh as the rockets fired and blew the Leviathan up from the inside, but the resulting explosion knocked him through the air, through a bus bench and smacked him into a taxi. Tony took a second to recover from the impact and managed to get back to his feet only to be blasted twice by a Chitauri and knocked into a light pole.

Four Chitauri closed in on him when Aegis landed and deployed his arm shield and wrist blades. He deflected energy blasts from one Chitauri and closed the distance, kicking it in the face and slicing its leg off. He butterfly flipped through the air stabbed another Chitauri in the chest, using it as a meat shield and charged at the third. He took one of his explosive pellets and stuck it in the alien's throat before kicking its body into last two and knocked them into a car. The explosive went off as he threw one of his flechettes into the first Chitauri's eye, killing it.

 _"_ _Armor integrity at 25%, power at 17%, left jet boot disabled."_ Jarvis informed Tony as Will ran over and helped him up.

 ** _"_** ** _Thanks for the save, kid."_** Iron Man told him.

 _"_ _Will, Clint is going to need some help."_ Edi showed him on the map as 20 Chitauri were closing in on him.

 **"** **I'm on it!"** He flew into the air as Iron Man tried hovering up but with his left jet boot damaged and disabled, it was a lot harder and he couldn't fly around like before. Hawkeye fired an arrow at a Chitauri that tried to sneak up on him and when he pulled out another, he realized he was empty. Another Chitauri climbed up so he smacked it with his bow and kicked it off the roof. He grabbed his arrow from the dead Chitauri when he saw a whole group of gliders heading straight for him. **"Clint I'm on your nine! Jump now!"**

Hawkeye jumped forward and off the building just as the Chitauri blew the rooftop to pieces. He fell to the ground when Aegis flew by and grabbed him by the arm. He flew them low to the ground when an energy blast hit him in the back and sent him crashing to the ground. He grabbed Barton and covered the two in a forcefield as they hit the ground hard which saved them from serious injuries.

"Thanks for that." Hawkeye said as Aegis nodded when the gliders did a strafing run, so he brought up a barrier. He held the barrier as strong as he could and noticed it was a lot harder then it was three hours ago when the fighting started, and he could feel the mental and physical strain his powers required now. A group of Chitauri on the ground advanced on them and fired at the barrier so Aegis did his best to try and keep it up but it was getting harder.

 **"** **Clint, do something!"** Aegis struggled to keep the barrier up so Hawkeye grabbed one of the shoulder pellet straps from Will and tossed it high into the air above the Chitauri. He fired his last arrow at it, and it exploded in a huge plume of fire and metal the killed the aliens. " **Thanks."**

Aegis concentrated and collected all the nearby arrows Clint had used and pulled them into his hand. In the surrounding area, there were about 40 he was able to get which gave Clint his arsenal back. **"Here. Cap's a few blocks away. Group up with him!"** Aegis flew into the air and began blasting more Chitauri but saw his telekinetic energy blasts weren't as powerful as before. He saw another group of gliders heading straight for him so he raised a forcefield but again, it was a lot harder to keep strong. He quickly threw the Demon Wind Shuriken and destroyed another wave.

 **"** **Edi, what's going on with my powers?"** He asked as he flew down a street and sliced glider after glider.

 _"_ _Your powers are getting weaker because you're overtaxing your body and your mind. While you do have enhanced endurance, you have been fighting nonstop for the past three hours and 48 minutes. Any normal human would have passed out from exhaustion or died at this point. And you weren't in 100% condition after your astral projection episode or has the botulism escaped your mind. And while your powers are linked to your brain and it has gotten strong, it is still a muscle and your constant use of it is tiring you out faster."_ Edi informed him and she was right. While he was a super soldier and he had super endurance, he and Cap still have their limits. Now while Cap wasn't as tired as he was, Will was using his powers constantly. He did gain a boost in power and new abilities from the scepter, but the astral projection episode tired him out and he hadn't trained with his new power level yet, so he was gassing out quicker. _"I recommend limiting your powers as much as possible."_

 **"** **Duly noted. Keep me updated."** He said as he flew low to the ground and sliced Chitauri after Chitauri with the giant shuriken.

The Hulk smashed through another group of Chitauri, slamming their heads with his fists and throwing them away like softballs when hit with a few energy blasts. The Hulk looked up to see about 40 Chitauri gliders grouped together and the lead pilot signaled the others to fire but Aegis flew in front of the Hulk and raised up a barrier. The Chitauri fired everything they had at the barrier and Will struggled to keep it up as the continuous bombardment strained him. That along with his exhaustion wasn't helping.

 **"** **HULK, DO SOMETHING!"** Aegis shouted. The Hulk did a thunderclap and the shockwave destroyed half of the gliders. Will struggled to hold up the barrier and began generating energy in his body and unleashed a psionic shockwave that destroyed the rest.

Will fell to his knees in exhaustion and took a moment to catch his breath. He turned around and saw the Hulk looking at him. " ** _Puny man help Hulk. Hulk like Puny Man."_** Hulk smiled and jumped away to fight more Chitauri.

At the helicarrier, World Security Councilwoman Hawley contacted two of the SHIELD pilots and informed them of their new orders. _"Director Fury is no longer in command. Override order 7-Alpha-1-1."_

"7-Alpah-1-1, confirmed. We're go for takeoff." The pilot responded. Hill was on the bridge when she noticed the jet about to leave.

"Sir, we have a bird in motion!" Hill shouted as Fury ran to the flight deck. "Anyone on the deck, we have a rogue bird. We need to shut it down! Repeat, take off is not authorized."

Fury ran out onto the flight deck with a rocket launcher and saw the jet speeding up on the runway. He aimed and fired the rocket, hitting the engine and causing the jet to crash. He thought he ended it when he saw another jet take off. He pulled out his pistol but was too late as the Jet was in the air and heading to the city. Fury ran inside and contacted Will

"Agent Detmer, come in." Fury called.

 **"** **Little busy at the moment, Director. This better be important."** He replied as he flipped over a car and decapitated another Chitauri with his forearm blades, then threw his shurikens and sliced through more.

"You have a missile heading straight for the city." He told him.

 **"** **How long do I have?"** He asked as he fired a telekinetic blast at a group of Chitauri.

"Three minutes, max. The payload will wipe out Midtown." Fury told him.

 **"** **Edi get me a location on that jet now!"** Aegis ordered as he unleashed one final shockwave that nearly put him on empty.

 _"_ _Airplane, located. Three miles off of Liberty island."_ Edi brought up the map to show him so he flew out of the city as fast as he could.

The jet was flying towards Manhattan as the pilot hesitated for a second before following orders and firing the nuke at the city. " _Package is sent. Detonation in 2 minutes, 30 seconds, mark."_ The pilot reported and flew back to the helicarrier.

Cap, Thor and Hawkeye were together by Grand Central Station fighting the Chitauri. Cap bashed one with his shield as Thor hit one with his hammer and Hawkeye took headshot after headshot. One energy blast hit Cap in the stomach and sent him to the ground as more Chitauri grouped up and fired at them. Thor blocked the blasts with his hammer while Hawkeye fired an explosive arrow and killed a bunch of them. Thor hit a car with his hammer and sent it spinning on its side and squished the Chitauri before throwing it down the street and killing a few more. Thor held out his hand and helped the Captain back to his feet.

"Are you ready for another bout?" Thor asked, looking at the wound but Steve stayed strong.

"What, are you getting sleepy?" He asked.

Another group of Chitauri showed up but before they could open fire, a missile blew them all to pieces. They turned and saw Iron Man wobbly hover through the air and land next to them. " ** _I'm running low on tricks here, Cap."_** Iron Man told him.

"Me too. We have a new plan here?" Hawkeye asked as Steve shrugged.

"I don't know." He replied.

On the roof of Stark Tower, Selvig and Romanoff had recovered the scepter and were going to close the portal. "Right at the crown." Selvig instructed her. She pushed the scepter into the device as it managed to penetrate the shield.

"I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down." Romanoff said.

"Do it!" Cap told her.

 **"** **Wait, not yet!"** Aegis told them.

"Will, these things are still coming." Cap told him.

 **"** **I know but we've got a nuke heading to the city and it's going to blow in less than a minute."** He said as he saw the nuke heading to the city and he had less than sixty seconds before it detonated. He swerved through the air over the Brooklyn Bridge and flew alongside the missile. " **And I've got enough in the tank to send it where I want to."**

He flew under the missile and began physically adjusting its course to head for the portal. "Will…you know that's a one way trip." Cap told him as Will took a moment to himself.

 **"** **You really need to work on your motivational speeches, Cap."** He replied.

 _"_ _Will…I don't think you'll have enough energy to make it back through the portal."_ Edi told him. Will took a moment and knew that this could be the end.

 **"** **Guess I'll have to take those odds."** He said. **"Edi…it's been an honor."**

 _"_ _The honor has been mine, Will."_ She replied with fondness and charted out a course for him to follow into the portal.

Fury and all of SHIELD watched with baited breath as they saw Aegis fly the missile towards the portal in an effort to end the invasion and save the city from a nuclear explosion. He flew down the street and closed in on Stark Tower as he readied himself to dig deep and use whatever last ounce of strength and concentration he had for this.

 **"** **RAAAAAHHHHH!"** He shouted at the top of his lungs and physically forced the missile straight up into the air. The rest of the team watched as Aegis pushed the missile straight up into the sky and towards the portal and made it through. All the SHIELD personnel on the helicarrier cheered and sighed in relief that Aegis saved the city and Fury watched with pride in his sacrifice…he was like his mother in that way.

Aegis flew through the portal with the missile and arrived in deep space. The thruster on the missile kept it moving but Will immediately began to experience the empty vacuum he was in. His mask did its best to supply him with oxygen but he had maybe half a minute at best. His suit was for combat and not pressurized for the force of deep space and he couldn't raise a barrier around himself…he was too tired. He looked and saw the massive mother ship of the Chitauri when he noticed the missile was off course so he used his last ounce of consciousness and strength to move the missile to the left and send it right where it needed to be. His mask ran out of oxygen and he struggled to breathe when he saw the nuke go off and obliterate the command ship. Back on earth, the team watched as all the Chitauri and Leviathans drop to the ground dead. Will did it.

Will was too far from the portal to make it as his body just drifted in space. He closed his eyes and faded into darkness with a smile on his face…he saved the world. At the last second, he could have sworn he saw a yellow blip in the distance heading straight for him before he passed out. Said yellow blip was moving fast and when it neared him, it gave him a small nudge and sent him moving towards the portal.

"Come on, kid. Come on." Tony begged, hoping to see him fly out of the portal but all they saw was the light of the nuclear explosion and muffled boom. They all sighed in regret…Will didn't make it.

"Close it, Romanoff." Steve regrettably told her. With a heavy heart, she touched the scepter to the crown and the energy connection ceased and shut the portal down. The energy beam ceased and the portal began collapsing just as Will's body drifted into it right before it closed.

"Look!" Barton pointed into the air and they saw Will's body heading straight for the ground. He made it.

"The kid did it." Tony said with pride when he and Thor noticed something.

"He's not slowing down!" Thor began spinning his hammer and Tony closed his mask.

 ** _"_** ** _Jarvis, give me everything we got into the thrusters."_** His thrusters went off and he began to hover into the air, but Will's body was dangerously close to the ground. His saving grace came in the form of the Hulk who grabbed him mid-fall and dug into the side of a building, slowing their descent. The Hulk then jumped from the building and landed on the street by Stark Tower with Will safely in his arms. He put him down on the ground as Thor, Tony, Steve, and Barton rushed over.

"Is he breathing?" Steve asked as Thor ripped his mask off and they all saw Will's face was paler than normal. Steve checked his breathing but there was none.

"Thor, give him a jumpstart!" Tony said as Thor channeled electricity into his hammer and shocked Will, forcing his body to move like he was hit with shock paddles. "Again!"

Thor did it again but nothing as Tony still wasn't detecting a heartbeat. "Do it again!" Tony shouted as Thor did it one last time but nothing. Thor and Steve sighed in regret as Barton bowed his head in respect.

"Do it again!" Tony shouted as Steve tried to stop him.

"Tony…he's gone." Steve told him as Tony didn't want to believe him.

"Come on, kid. Wake up. Wake up!" Tony shook him but Will wasn't moving. "I know you're tougher then this now wake up! Come on!"

Tony began shocking Will with his repulsors to try and get his heart to start but it did nothing. "COME ON!" Tony shouted as Steve had to hold him back.

"Tony, stop!" Steve shouted as Tony struggled to hold back tears. "He's gone."

None of them wanted to believe that he was gone but there was nothing they could do. The kid who brought them all together and led them in the fight gave his life for their mistakes. Hulk felt sadness instead of anger when his hearing picked up a faint pumping and knew it was coming from Will.

 **[ROAR!]** "AAAAHH!" Will woke up with a shock and Steve, Tony, Thor, and Barton saw he was alive when they thought he was dead. Will coughed his lungs up as the Hulk roared in celebration. Will took some heavy breaths when he saw Tony, Thor, Barton, Steve, and the Hulk looking at him. "What happened?! Am I dead?"

"No, you made it kid." Tony said as he hugged him and he hugged back.

"We won." Steve said. Will nodded and laid back on the ground to rest.

"Nicely done everyone." Will said feeling the exhaustion and pain of the battle finally hit him. "Barton, you think saving the world warrants a few days off?"

"More than a few." Barton said so Will gave him a thumb up.

"Hey, have any of you guys ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I want to try it." Tony said.

"We're not finished yet." Thor said and Steve nodded in agreement.

"And then shawarma after." Tony said.

Loki had finally dug himself out of the hole in the floor that Will knocked him in to. His whole body ached and his stab wound had healed. Loki crawled out of the hole and made his way to the door when he stopped. He turned around to see the Avengers grouped together there, glaring at him and waiting for him to give them an excuse to kick his ass. Romanoff held his scepter and Barton had an arrow aimed right at his head.

"If it's not too much trouble…I'd very much appreciate a drink." Loki said causing the Hulk to growl in response.

The military began securing the city and soon SHIELD arrived to help clean up the mess and secure all alien contraband. Will encased Loki in a Vibranium prison jumpsuit with a muzzle so he wasn't escaping. Some SHIELD agents took him into custody and secured the scepter and the portal device, but the group didn't know that a portion of the Tesseract energy had been infused in the crown of the portal device. They weren't done with it yet. After Loki was taken away, the team went to the shawarma restaurant and began eating their fill after the long day they've had. They all sat around a table and ate as much as they could eat while the owners of the restaurant were cleaning up the damage from the battle. Dr. Banner finished his shawarma while Will gulped down another soda. Thor was on his sixth shawarma basket and Barton read a magazine while he ate. Steve wiped his mouth and Romanoff took a sip of water while Tony sat back in his chair. It was actually pretty good. No one said anything, they just sat there and ate for what seemed like forever but in actuality was just half an hour.

They heard a rumble outside and saw the War Machine suit land outside the restaurant. The mask opened up as Rhodey looked at them and at the aftermath of the battle. "Rhodey, what took you so long?" Will asked.

Line Break xxxxx

A few days have passed since the invasion of the Chitauri which was now being called the Battle of New York. In the aftermath of the battle, SHIELD worked double-time to clean up the mess left behind in the battle and secure any and all alien artifacts, weapons, or bodies. It would take time, but Stark Industries was also helping in the clean-up and repair. SHIELD was also officially revealed to the public after the battle of New York and took priority of all clean-up and activity in the city following the battle. Tony worked with SHIELD and the government and quickly formed the Department of Damage Control which would supervise all clean-up and make sure all alien technology was recovered and stored away safely.

Hill was in a briefing with the World Security Council following the Battle of New York. The council felt that despite everything that happened, Fury wasn't fit for SHIELD command and were going to use whatever they could to crucify him. Hill sat at a table and she recounted her experience to the council via video chat.

"You want to know what went wrong? How this horror, this catastrophe could have been avoided?" Hill asked.

 _"_ _A lot of people are dead, Commander Hill. Somebody has to answer for that." Councilman_ Ricktor told her.

"A lot of people have to answer for that." She replied.

 _"_ _Nick Fury?"_ Councilwoman Hawley asked, causing Hill to scoff and shake her head.

"That man." She commented.

 _"_ _You've filed several reports criticizing Director Fury's actions since you joined SHIELD."_ Hawley said.

"Because he's reckless. We're at war and he thinks about superheroes." Hill said.

 _"_ _The Avengers?"_ Councilman Mallick asked.

"God. Who would bring those people together and not expect what happened?" She said.

 _"_ _You have to understand that there are aspects of this incident that are difficult for most people to accept. Those creatures."_ Councilman Hawley said.

"Fury says to me once, in the time of gods and monsters what is the worth of a single man? I don't know what he means and then men are dying all around. Good men. Friends…even some heroes." Hill said.

 _"_ _So, it's safe to say some mistakes were made in the handling of the incident."_ Hawley said.

"Mistakes? God. That's all there was, a serious of escalating mistakes. And worst of all, I lost faith in Fury's biggest gamble. Aegis." Hill said. "Here is a man who has risked his life for this planet, and I have been doubting him since day one. I have a lot of making up to do for him, especially since he saved us from the second biggest mistake which was all of you. You thought they were a threat. I thought they were a joke. Nick Fury only ever saw them as the Avengers, no matter what he said. If he hadn't seen that and trusted Aegis…well, midtown Manhattan would be a smoking crater for one thing."

 _"_ _That issue is not on question at this time."_ Mallick told her.

"It is absolutely a bad idea The wrong people at the wrong time and it worked. I had my doubts, but Fury had the missing link. Aegis. He brought them together and they saved us and its infuriating. We're trained to believe in a system, not to gamble, not to hope. Nick Fury saw something running under the system. A current, a connection, a truth…about what we can do. What they would become. The Avengers were the mistake that saved the world. That's my official statement." Hill told them as the Council collectively sighed that the briefing didn't go as they wanted to.

 _"_ _I see."_ Mallick said.

"Oh, and as for the matter that is not in question, where you morons tried to nuke New York…well, that's on the record. As in we recorded it as well as news crews all over the world. And we collected them, so we have backups to our backups. We do that, we're SHIELD. So, if you're thinking about coming after Nick Fury or pressuring him, myself, or any of our agents about Aegis and who he could possibly be or sending your men after him…think really, really hard." Hill ended that conversation with a smile on her face.

The Avengers gathered together in Central Park with a squad of SHIELD agents to secure the perimeter. They met one last time as Dr. Banner and Dr. Selvig put the Tesseract into a specialized device that would activate it's portal abilities and send Thor back to Asgard. Thor thanked all his new friends and allies and took Loki back to Asgard. The team said their goodbyes for now, but they would keep in touch incase something like this happened again.

Fury was meeting with the council on the helicarrier and showed them the news coverage of the Avengers which pretty much sang praise about them. " _Where are the Avengers now?"_ Councilman Adid asked.

"I'm not currently tracking their whereabouts. I'd say they've earned a leave of absence." Fury replied.

 _"_ _And the Tesseract?"_ Hawley asked.

"The Tesseract is where it belongs. Out of our reach." Fury told them.

 _"_ _That wasn't your call to make."_ Mallick informed him.

"I didn't make it. I just didn't argue with the god that did." Fury replied.

 _"_ _So, you let him take it and the war criminal, Loki, who should be answering for his crimes."_ Mallick said.

"Oh, I think he will be." Fury joked.

 _"_ _I don't think you understand what you've started, letting the Avengers loose on this world. They're dangerous."_ Hawley told him

"They surely are, and the whole world knows it. Every world knows it." Fury accentuated that last sentence.

 _"_ _Was that the point of all this, Director? A statement_?" Mallick asked as Fury thought of Captain Rogers and Will Detmer.

"A promise." He replied and ended the conversation. He walked out of the briefing room and onto the bridge where he saw Hill busy at work. "How did your conversation go with them?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I sold you up the river, sir. I'll probably have your job soon." She said as Fury looked at the podium where he stood.

"You should probably ask for a chair." He joked which actually made her chuckle as the two walked over to the sky view.

"Sir, how does it work now? With the Avengers? They've gone their separate ways. Some of them pretty extremely far." Hill said. "If we get into a situation like this again, what happens then?"

"They'll come back." He said as he looked out the window.

"Are you really sure about that?" She asked.

"I am." He replied.

"Why?" Hill was curious as Fury looked back at her.

"Because we'll need them to." Fury believed in the Avengers and now she did as well.

Back in New York, Tony Stark had Bruce and Will in Stark Tower to rest up as he thought about the redesigns and construction for the tower. Pepper showed Dr. Banner to his room so Tony got himself a drink when he noticed Will looking out into the city.

"Everything ok, kid?" Tony asked as he walked up to him.

"I don't know why, but I'm going to miss how things were." He said which made Tony confused. "Things have changed now and there's no going back. The world's never going to be the same."

"You got that right, kid." Tony said as he took a sip of his drink. "Aliens, gods, monster, other dimensions, I'm just a man in a suit."

"A fancy billion-dollar suit but a suit nonetheless." Will joked which made Tony chuckle. "They're not going to be the only threat we'll face. The intermediator between Loki and the Chitauri…he won't take this sitting down."

"Then we better be ready for when he shows up again. Come on." Tony brought Will over to his workstation where he laid out a holographic design pad. He activated it to show the new designs he had for the Tower which included increased security measures, prototypes for something called the Iron Legion, a quinjet hangar and quarters for all the Avengers. "Next time the aliens come knocking, we'll be ready."

"Leave it to you to prepare for everything." Will said.

"Now all it needs is a name." Tony said as Will got an idea. He took a stencil and wrote down _Avengers Tower_ on the pad.

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading today. Let's get to work." Will said as Tony nodded.

 **Deep Space**

Back in the barren space quadrant where the Chitauri used to be was nothing but emptiness as they had been wiped out. The Other knelt before his master and relayed the news of the Chitauri defeat on earth and the decimation of the fighting force. **"Humans. They are not the cowering wretches we were promised. They stand. They are unruly, and therefore cannot be ruled."** The Other told his master. Said Master, stood up from his chair and the Other bowed his head in respect. **"To challenge them…is to court death."**

Thanos just turned around at his subject with a smirk. This was far from over.

 **End of Chapter 5**

 **Finally, the end of Phase 1 of the MCU. It took forever but I'm glad I got it done with so I can now write more interesting crossovers and get to the Agents of SHIELD part of the story. The Avengers are officially together, and the rest of Phase 2 is set for the story. The Battle of New York is over, and the world now knows of the Avengers, Earth's Mightiest Heroes.**

 **I hope you guys like the chapter, it was basically the movie with some of the deleted scenes added in. Some things were changed up because Will is involved like him taking the nuke into the portal and helping Dr. Banner with the Hulk. This won't be the last time the portal device is used as it will come back in a later chapter. I know many of you want Will to go to the Arrowverse and he will in a later chapter. He'll be powered up when he heads there but it won't be for a while.**

 **Will's interaction with the scepter and the Mind Stone increased his power and gave him new abilities like Astral Projection. In the comics, the Mind Stone is able to increase the power of telepaths, telekinetics, and psychics. So, when he interfaced with it, it gave him a power boost and unlocked new abilities. Now while he got stronger, he'll need to learn how to use them more effectively. Before people begin pointing out that Will should have been able to do more during the Battle of New York, remember that Will wasn't at 100% when the battle began. Astral Projection is useful but extended use is bad for him, which shows in the vomiting episode he had when he got back in his body. And even though his mind is incredibly powerful and he's immensely powerful, his body still has its limits. In the Avengers movie, Cap was tired from the battle as well and Will's the same so he would be just as exhausted, probably more given how often he used his powers. His brain is powerful and deadly but it's a muscle and can be strained so that's why he got so tired in the fight. As he trains more and more, he won't exhaust himself as quickly. Hope the power levels help give you guys a mental indicator of how powerful he's gotten. He'll get stronger in Phase 2 and when Phase 3 hits, he'll get even stronger.**

 **For those that haven't seen Captain Marvel, sorry for spoiling scenes from the movie. Will know knows more about his birthmother and next chapter, he'll confront Fury about what he knows and learn more and meet a Flerken. Captain Marvel was great and can't wait to see her in Endgame and where things go from here. Long live Goose.**

 **Next chapter, Will confronts Fury about what he knows about Carol Danvers and learns the full story of what happened in the 90s. He also meets the Flerken that clawed out Fury's eye. Besides that, he'll enjoy his vacation and a surprise visit from someone makes it better but Will being Will, his luck will turn, and he'll be facing a serial killer. Not fun. Till next time.**

 **William Detmer**

· **Moniker=** Aegis _(means something under protection from a benevolent source/Shield of Zeus and Athena)_

· **SHIELD Status:** Level 5 Agent/ Avenger / Special Operations, Tactics and Defense Specialist (SOTD)

· **Appearance:** Stephen Amell from Arrow, Season 1 build **.**

o **Combat gear:** Earth X's Dark Arrow Vibranium jacket and pants with retractable full-face mask colored Black and Blue. Eye covers in mask are colored blue as well. Shoulder strap pellet holders. Combat gloves and forearm guards with weapons and equipment.

o **Weapons:**

§ **Signature Guns:**

· Modified Heckler & Koch P30L handgun with custom grip and compensator.

· Modified Knight's Armament SR-25 Sniper rifle with modified scope, bipod, and suppressor.

· Modified M249 Mk46 Light Machine gun with a modified barrel, magazine insertion well. Equipped with adjustable buttstock, 100-round magazine drum, deployable bipod, red dot sight, flashlight, and laser sight attachment.

· Modified TDI/KRISS Vector-.45 ACP with modified barrel, stock, grip, extended magazine, red-dot sight, flashlight, laser sight, and silencer attachment.

§ **Others:**

· Right forearm guard wrist mounted retractable Vibranium/alloy blades.

· Left forearm guard wrist mounted small retractable Vibranium Shield & touchpad computer.

· 10 dark blue flechettes/throwing arrows wrapped around his ankles.

· 2 Vibranium orbs that Will is able to manipulate.

· Natural Language Modified Artificial Intelligence program EDI.

· Predator Combi stick/spear

· 2 Predator Shuriken

· 4 Laser net devices

· Predator knife

o **Casual Outfit:** dark blue or black sneakers, jeans, blue or black t-shirt and either a zip-up hoodie, jacket, or button up over.

· **Born:** September 8th, 1988-Currently 23

· **Notable talents:** Genius level intellect potential, self-defense military training from Harold Detmer, knowledge, and training in 15 types of martial arts, gun knowledge and expert marksman trained by Clint Barton, espionage and spy skills trained by Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD tactics and medical training from Coulson and SHIELD trainers, well-crafted knowledge and understanding of psychology, knowledge, and experience with engineering both mechanical and electrical.

· **Personality:** Kind, caring, composed, attentive, intelligent, and driven. Can be a bit of a smartass.

o When insulted, angered, or in a serious situation, focused and relentless. Considered dangerous and unforgiving in these types of situations.

o Uses powers sparingly in the field unless absolutely needs to.

· **Pairing:** Will x Skye/Daisy Johnson x Crystal

 **Powers:**

· **Rakyat Tatau:** _Mystical tattoo that enhances speed, strength, stamina, intelligence, instincts, healing speed ad metabolic function to absolute human peak potential. (Captain America Level Super Soldier)_

· **Telekinesis, the ability to impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other non-physical means**

· **Power Level=** Advanced: level 4 out of 5

o **Binding-** _to keep an object/being from moving_

o **Levitation-** _to lift an object_

o **Orbital Field-** _to makes objects and energy orbit around user_

o **Telekinetic Shield** - _to create a shield of telekinetic energy around user or others/strength of shield depends on mental strength and focus of user_

o **Psionic Speed-** _to augment user's physical speed_

o **Psionic Strength-** _to augment user's physical strength_

o **Telekinetic Bullet Projection** - _projecting telekinetic energy as bullets_

o **Telekinetic Choking** - _to strangle someone with telekinesis_

o **Telekinetic Grip-** _To grasp an object firmly in place_

o **Telekinetic Maneuver-** _to alter an object's directional course_

o **Telekinetic Pull & Push-** _to pull or push objects away from user_

o **Molecular Manipulation** - _to manipulate matter at molecular level. Can accelerate, slow down and adjust spacing of molecules. (_ _ **limited in use.**_ _ie. manipulating Vibranium orbs and reshaping them)_

o **Telekinetic Aura/Sense** - _To sense one's surroundings with telekinesis_

o **Telekinetic Compression-** _to crush or compact an object_

o **Telekinetic Blast-** _to emit telekinetic energy as a blast of blue energy_

o **Telekinetic Destruction** - _to make an object explode into dust_

o **Telekinetic Flight** - _using telekinesis to fly_

o **Psionic Explosion** - _to create/discharge psychic energy across a wide range_

· **Telepathy, mentally receive or transmit information**

· **Power Level=** Advanced: level 4 out of 5

o **Mind Reading** - _ability to read the thoughts of others_

o **Memory Reading** _-the ability to read the target's memories_

o **Psychic Communication** - _the ability to secretly converse with others_

o **Telepathic Speaking** - _to speak aloud using the mind_ o **Telepathic Projection-** _to project images or memories into the physical plane_

o **Download** _-the ability to process/download information of another person (If used in a violent or angry mood, can harm the victim)_

o **Knowledge Replication** - _the ability to replicate learned knowledge and skills_

o **Knowledge Projection** - _the ability to project knowledge to another_

o **Rapid brain activity** - _the ability to process and understand information at incredible rates_

o **Mental Inducement** - _The ability to put the targets mind into the wanted state_

o **Mental Hallucination** - _the ability to cause mental hallucinations_

o **Mind Link** - _the ability to develop a permanent mental bond with any person_

o **Mind Walking/Melding** - _to enter another's consciousness_

o **Precognition awareness-** _six sense awareness of imminent danger_

o **Telepathic Prediction** - _the ability to know a person's moves by reading their brain waves_

o **Astral Projection** - _to separate one's mind from their body and explore physical plane (Cannot use telekinesis in this state. If separated from body too long, very dangerous.)_

o **Telepathic Surgery** - _the ability to perform neuropsychic surgery, healing and/or damaging the mind_

o **Memory/Mental Manipulation** - _the ability to manipulate a target's memories and mind_

o **Clairvoyance** - _the ability to gain direct visual information through non-physical means (Triggered only by serious events)_

o **Foresight** - _the ability to foresee possible future events and observe what may happen (Needs certain triggers to activate)_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHIELD or any Marvel Properties, they belong to their respective owners, I'm just a fan.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is Chapter 6 of the Perfect One. In the aftermath of the Battle of New York, The Avengers have gone their separate ways and adjust to a world where everyone now knows that they and SHIELD exist. The cat's out of the bag. But Will's been given some well deserved time off which he uses to finally get some answers out of Fury about Carol Danvers and what really happened in the 90s. But it's not all bad…scratch that, it sucks because he takes it upon himself to end a serial killer's reign and bring justice to a lot of people. Enjoy!**

 **The Perfect One: Not even vacation time is peaceful**

 **May 2012: Atlantic City, New Jersey**

The Battle of New York is over and the whole world witnessed an alien army invade and try to take over the planet. But the planet was saved by a group of heroes known as the Avengers. It marked a vital chapter in history as that event was solid proof to the rest of the world that there was life in space, and they were hostile. It also gave them a group of protectors comprised of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. SHIELD has been revealed to the world and was now the lead organization to deal with anything and everything strange or odd. It's been a week since the battle of New York and cleanup of the battle was nearly complete. People didn't think it would be done so fast, but SHIELD worked overtime to clean up everything as well as the Department of Damage Control and Stark Industries. The reconstruction of the city would take some time as well as the recovery of those injured and those who lost loved ones in the battle. Memorials were set up throughout the city for those that were lost during the battle and so that they would never be forgotten.

The media was a firestorm following the battle with amateur footage of Iron Man and the Hulk fighting aliens or of Aegis flying the nuke through the portal. There were interviews with people who witnessed the battle and sang praise for the Avengers for saving them while there were people who had justifiable fears and uneasiness about the whole thing and the secrets being kept. The political world was also turned on its head with the Battle of New York. Any political figure with a smidge of power commented on the Avengers with Senator Stern in particular throwing shade at them. Given he was the one who tried to take Tony's Iron Man suits it was no surprise, but SHIELD was protecting them for now.

Will was enjoying every minute of his vacation after the exhaustion of the Chitauri invasion. Unlike the other members of the team, Will's identity was a secret. To the rest of the world and most of SHIELD, Aegis was a mysterious enhanced individual and was supposedly under the direct command of Director Fury. Tony Stark was known to the world as Iron Man and Captain America was celebrity from the 40s. Thor was a god from another planet and Widow and Hawkeye's faces were known to the world now. Will work a mask during the whole battle so no one knew Aegis's face. With SHIELD, all of Will's information on his powers and Aegis identity was locked under a level 10 security clearance that could only be accessed by Director Fury. Even on missions, anyone who has ever seen him use his powers or knew Aegis's identity was ordered by Director Fury himself to never speak of it again. Will enjoyed the fact that he could enjoy a regular life outside of the mask and not be hounded by people like Tony endured on a regular basis but now that the world knew of Aegis, he needed to make sure that no one could make the connection that it was him. So, unless Aegis was ordered specifically for a mission by Director Fury or Commander Hill, Will would just operate as a regular SHIELD agent.

He got back from a trip to Portland, Oregon to pay his respects to Audrey Nathan, Coulson's girlfriend. She was distraught over his death and he wanted to pay his respects and help her. He was currently at home, having just gotten out of the shower and getting ready to get some breakfast at Maria's. He sent his Aegis gear to Tony who asked for them because he was going to do another upgrade. Will was in the mood for a garbage omelet, extra bacon on the side, side of rye toast and a glass of fresh squeeze orange juice along with Maria's famous coffee for breakfast. He got out the shower and dressed in converse sneaker, blue jeans, and a form fitting blue t-shirt. He grabbed his spare Glock 17 pistol and slipped it into the holster in the back of his jeans and put this shirt over so no one would see it. He grabbed his motorcycle helmet and the keys to the black and red 1970 Harley Davison Titan V-rod Motorcycle. He decided to take the bike instead of his dad's pickup. He was thinking of buying another car, but he'd do it another time. He drove to Maria's and parked his bike outside. He turned off the engine and took his helmet off when he noticed a SHIELD style Chevy Suburban parked down the street. He walked in to see the place was busy and stocked up with no empty seats at the counter.

"Hey, Will. Long time no see." Grace greeted him as she walked over with a coffee pot. Grace has been a waitress at Maria's for a long time and since Will has been here for years growing up, he knew her very well.

"Hey, Grace. You got room for one?" He asked. She nodded and grabbed a menu and the coffee pot.

"Come on." She escorted him through the small diner to an empty booth in the corner. "I haven't seen you in a while, Will. Work keeping you busy?"

"Yeah, a lot of traveling recently but I'm back for now." He said, grabbing the menu, and sitting down in the booth. He held out the coffee cup and Grace filled it up for him.

"Glad to have you back. Place isn't the same without you and your merry band of misfits running around. How are they? I saw Grant and Daisy in here a week ago." Grace said, taking out her order pad and a pen.

"They're doing good. I check on them all the time and they're doing better. All busy with work and stuff." Will said as she nodded.

"Ok, what can I get you? We're running a special. The Heroes of New York breakfast platter has the Iron Man Taylor Ham topped over-easy eggs, the Hulk spinach and hash browns, The Widow and Hawkeye red-eye gravy and grits, with the Aegis Espresso and the Captain America smoothie." Grace told him and Will had to withhold laughing outloud from hearing that.

"No, I'm ok. I'll just take the garbage omelet, extra bacon on the side, side of Rye Toast and your famous orange juice." Will ordered and Grace wrote that all down.

"All right, I'll get it out to you as soon as possible." Grace left leaving Will to enjoy some peace and quiet. He took a sip of coffee and grabbed the newspaper to read over the headlines which were about the clean-up in the city and everything Tony was doing. He turned the page to read the sports when he heard some footsteps come up and someone sit down in the booth across from him.

"I'd ask how you knew I'd be here, but I know better than that now." Will turned the page as another waitress came by and poured another cup of coffee for his guest. "I've been trying to get in contact with you for the last week and got nothing. Not even from Hill. Where were you?"

"Taking care of some business, Agent Detmer. I come and go as I please." Will put the paper down and saw Fury sitting across from him, wearing regular civilians clothes. "And last I checked as the Director of SHIELD, I don't need to inform my agents of where I go."

"Guess not." Will replied, taking a sip of coffee. "So what? You came by to tell me that we can't talk or just to check up on me?"

"I came by because the last time I was here there was some French Toast on the menu that I was interested in." Fury said as he looked at the menu. "All the fancy, posh, and expensive meals in the world and nothing's better than scratched cooked American classics at an affordable price."

A waitress came by and took Fury's order. "You can't deflect and ignore me as much as you want, Director but I won't stop until I find out the truth." Will told him.

"Sounds to me like you already knew plenty." Fury replied.

"But there are still gaps that need to be filled." Will told him. "I learned enough but there's still a lot you never told me, and I think I have a right to know the truth about my own birthmother."

"It's called compartmentalization. It's the basis of SHIELD's entire organization and structure. I told you what you were ready to hear and that it." Fury explained.

"Well, I'm ready to know more. I deserve to know more. What happened in 1995?" Will asked as Fury took a sip of coffee.

"What happened was I learned a lesson that the rest of the world learned a week ago: that despite all our advance technology and weapons, heroes are the best defense for mankind." Fury said. "If you would have told me that one woman would have changed my idea of planetary defense then I would have turned in my badge that day. Glad I was proven wrong. But first things first, tell me how you even knew I was hiding information from you?"

"It was during my astral projection episode. When I interfaced with Loki's scepter, it granted me a power boost." Will said as he levitated the sugar container over to his cup of coffee without even looking or moving his hand which is something Fury never saw before. Fury always saw Will would use his hands to direct his powers, but he was now able to do it without even looking at what he was moving. "The power boost is what let me keep up the pressure when the Chitauri invaded but it also let me dive deep into the memories of the team…including you. Guess my upgrade let me bypass your electronic interference bugs but knowing you, you'll devise something more powerful to counteract it."

"You'd be right about that." Fury replied. "Nothing that is discussed here will ever be spoken of again, is that understood?"

"Even the Flerk—"" Especially that." Fury cut him off instantly. "Only one other person in SHIELD knew the truth of what happened that day."

"Coulson." Will said and Fury nodded.

"Even then, Coulson knew very little. Only what I told him." Fury said.

"Why am I not surprised." Will commented. "What happened that day in 1995?"

"We were called in to investigate an O-8-4 in Los Angeles? Coulson and I were just agents back then and we got reports of an object falling from the sky and landing in a Blockbuster. When we arrived, we saw a woman dressed in a green/blue combat uniform, calling herself Veers of the Kree Starforce. She had your sense of humor." Fury said and Will perked up when he heard Fury mention the Kree.

"Kree? Kree as in the Kree empire?" Will asked and Fury nodded, wondering how he knew about that.

"I thought she was a few braincells short of full functioning and when she mentioned shapeshifting Skrulls I didn't think she was serious. I had dealt with Cold War spies and North Korean agents attempting an invasion of Washington DC and never did I think that the future enemy of SHIELD would come from the sky. But when I saw a Skrull fire an energy rifle at me and Carol blast apart a concrete roof with a photon blast I became a believer. I saw her in action, and I saw the body of the Skrull as well." Fury told him as Grace came by with the food and placed it down in front of them. Fury spread the whip cream on his French Toast while Will took a bite of his omelet with everyone else in the diner completely oblivious to the conversation they were having. "At first, she seemed to be right about the Skrulls and the thought of a secret invasion made me think she could be the key to stopping them. I tracked her down and we went to Project Pegasus for answers on someone named Dr. Lawson."

"The woman who recruited Carol Danvers for the project she was working on." Will said and Fury nodded.

"She was working on something called a lightspeed engine and it's at Project Pegasus that we learned your mother knew her years ago but with no memory of how, we tracked down the next person who could tell us." Fury said.

"Maria Rambeau. My mother's co-pilot and friend in Louisiana. There you learned that Carol was human all those years ago, was recruited for Project Pegasus and had me a year before she disappeared and there you learned that the Skrull might not be the bad guys." Will added in, surprising Fury with what he knew.

"Right. It turns out the Kree are more like the Chitauri and invade planets. They nearly decimated the Skrulls and Professor Lawson was a Kree defector who was trying to help them find a new planet. She was building them a ship to help them find a new planet and its power source was-"" The Tesseract. That I know. Along with Carol saving your butt, Goose eating the Tesseract and then scratching your eye out. Which by the way, was pretty funny." Will joked and Fury just gave him his patented death glare, so he quickly shut up. "And I know she beat the Kree back and the last memory I saw was of her and you watching over me when I was a kid."

"She left with the Skrulls to find them a new home. Leaving you again was the hardest thing she ever had to do." Fury said.

"I want to speak to her." Will said and Fury gave him a look.

"And what makes you think I would have a way to make that happen?" Fury asked, taking a sip of coffee.

"Because I know you well enough that you wouldn't have let her leave earth without some way to talk to her." Will pointed out.

"You're right and I do but it's only to be used for emergencies." Fury replied.

"And the Chitauri invasion wasn't one of them?" Will made a valid argument.

"I figured that her son would be able to handle it." Fury explained his reasoning for not calling Carol back to earth. "She's halfway across the galaxy and by the time she did come it would have been too late. I designed the Avenger Initiative, so we didn't have to rely on one woman to save us. I had faith that her son would rise up to the occasion and you did. But I can't contact her for a chat, and she told me that I was to do so only if something serious comes up. I hope to never have to use it."

"So much for a family reunion." Will said as he took a bite of toast. "Where do you think she is now?"

"I don't know but wherever she is, she must be doing something important." Fury told him. "I told you everything about Carol that you deserved to know. Never think you can order information like this from me again, Agent Detmer."

"You know, it's kind of hard to take you seriously after seeing you before you were Director." Will said as Fury gave him another death glare. "Understood, Director. And thank you for looking after me."

Fury didn't say anything but gave a subtle nod. That was Fury's way of saying your welcome. "Now, do you plan on sharing anything with me, Agent Detmer?" Fury asked.

"No." Will replied, eating more of his omelet.

"Really, anything about how you got that tattoo on your arm and what it has to do with your super soldier upgrade? Or better yet, the reason you perked up when I mentioned your mother was a member of the Kree Starforce or did you think I missed that?" Fury asked.

"Was kind of hoping that you would." Will replied, eating another strip of bacon. "It's information I'd rather keep to myself, Director."

"And I'm prepared to remove all your SHIELD access and stick you in a padded cell unless you tell me the truth, Agent Detmer. I've given you more freedom than any other agent in SHIELD, but my good grace has its limits. Tell me the truth." Fury warned him and Will knew Fury would go through with that threat. And having SHIELD and Fury as an enemy was not going to help anything. He needed Fury on his side because he kept the World Security Council off his back and in the aftermath of the Battle of New York, that would be a necessity.

"What I'm about to tell you is never mentioned again, put in any report, or anything like that. It dies here. That's my only condition." Will told him and Fury thought about it for a moment. Fury took a sip of coffee and looked at him.

"Done." Fury replied as Will sighed in relief.

"All right. We've been invisible since we've gotten here, and no one has batted an eye at us but for this I can't take any chances." Will's eyes flickered blue and everyone in the restaurant froze. Fury looked and everyone was frozen in place like someone pressed pause. He saw a waitress frozen in place after putting a coffee cup down, a man with a fork frozen halfway in his mouth and a small child frozen mid-sneeze. "New trick. Everyone here is still alive but mentally and physically frozen. No chance of someone eaves dropping on us here."

"There are just more surprises with you that I'm not surprised anymore." Fury replied. "Now explain."

"Ok, it happened when I first got my powers but I wasn't able to make sense of it until I got a better handle on them." Will told Fury, stretching the truth a tiny bit. "It must have been some kind of genetic memory hidden in my alien-DNA when I underwent my transformation but it filled in a lot of blanks on how I have my powers and why this happened to me."

"What kind of genetic memory?" Fury asked.

"The kind that proves that earth had alien contact long before 1995 or even 1989." Will told him and Fury listened intently. "Your story wasn't the first time I ever heard of the Kree, because the Kree race are the reason I'm like this. Thousands of years ago, the Kree were locked in a deadly intergalactic war with another species, probably the Skrull. They were taking heavy losses so the Kree science division began work on a super soldier project that would give them an edge in combat but rather than subject their own kind to the horrors of the project they went out to other planets and did the experiments on the local population. Earth happened to be one of them."

"What happened?" Fury asked.

"The Kree used their own blood along with other metamorphic compounds to mutate the local population in an effort to create super soldiers for their war but those experiments failed on every planet except for earth. On earth, the experiments needed to be stopped. The science division went rogue and began building cities and expanding the experiments, until another Kree faction shut them down. They left the planet and put that bloody chapter behind them." Will told Fury.

"And the changed humans…you're one of them." Fury said and Will nodded.

"We call ourselves Inhumans. That was the name given to my ancestors who have the Inhuman gene. When the Kree left, the Inhumans interbred with regular humans and the gene was passed down." Will said.

"Then why aren't there more…Inhumans like you running around with abilities?" Fury asked.

"Because an Inhuman transformation can only be triggered by a metamorphic compound known as Terrigen. It's a small blue crystal that releases a mist and puts the Inhuman through Terrigenesis. Only after that does an Inhuman acquire abilities or change. It's why there aren't other people with abilities running around. It's not triggered by puberty or stress but Terrigen." Will told him.

"The meteor you said crashed down that changed you?" Fury asked.

"That was Primagen, a more advanced and purer version of Terrigen. It can unlock a greater Terrigenesis in an Inhuman. It's why my abilities are much more powerful but I'm the only one and the Primagen turned to dust after it changed me. It's powerful but unstable after one use. I'm the only Primagen Inhuman on this planet." Will told him. "But I wasn't the first. On Rook Island, I found cave drawings and had a vision of another Primagen Inhuman years ago who was transformed. It's how I got this."

Will gestured to the tattoo on his left arm. "The ink activated with my Inhuman DNA but once I found out the truth, I destroyed and buried any evidence of it." Will told him.

"And other…Inhumans on earth?" Fury asked.

"Just normal humans with a unique potential that could be activated. Edi estimates that 1 in 100 could have an Inhuman gene but without Terrigen, they're human." Will informed him. "After I learned the truth, I spent every free second I could to track down any remnants of Terrigen or Diviners but found nothing yet. To be honest, I've been looking everywhere with no idea what to look for. It was millennia ago so I'm not even sure where to start."

"We handle it like any potential O-8-4 or Index evaluation. From now on, you'll be the lead agent with any potential finding regarding enhanced individuals or ancient relics. If there is more Terrigen out there, we can't risk it falling into the wrong hands and creating more people like you who would use their powers for the wrong reasons." Fury told him.

"Yes, sir but I think it'll be odd if you have a level 6 operative acting as lead agent on something important like an Index evaluation." Will pointed out.

"It would but not a level 7 operative." Fury informed him and Will nodded. He just got a promotion.

"Roger that." Will replied.

"Is there any chance the Kree will come back to Earth for you?" Fury asked.

"For me, I don't think so. The Kree thought the Inhuman experiment was an abomination and think they wiped us out. They have no reason to think another one is alive now." Will replied. "If anything, they'd probably be more interested in Earth after the Battle of New York but even then I don't think they'd come all the way back here. But if they do, then they're gonna be in for a sorry surprise."

"Yes they will. This stays between us." Fury said and Will nodded in understanding. Will began to suspect that he really was one of the few people the Fury actually trusted. Fury paid for his meal and Will did the same, ending the mental freeze on the denizens of the restaurant and they went about everything like nothing changed. Some noticed some odd things but didn't pay Will or Fury any more attention. Will grabbed his helmet and walked over to his bike when Fury signaled him over. Will walked over to Fury's SUV and wondered what else he had to tell him. Fury opened the passenger side door and to his surprise, saw a fluffy pet pillow and Goose laying there.

"Goose?" Will was shocked to see the cat there. Once Goose saw him, he jumped from the pillow and walked up to him. Goose sniffed him a bit before letting out a happy meow and rubbing up against him like he did to Carol in the memory he saw. Will knelt and scratched Goose behind the ears and under the chin and if the purrs were any indication then Goose was happy. "Where have you been all this time?"

"With me." Fury said, walking over to the trunk and taking out a large duffel bag. "After Carol left and Goose swallowed the Tesseract, I felt it was best to keep him close."

"And now that I'm here, you want to hand him over? Why me?" Will asked as Fury dropped the duffel bag next to him.

"Because you're the closest thing Goose has to family with Carol gone." Fury told him. Will scratched Goose on the head and Goose happily meowed and nuzzled into his hand.

"And because you don't want another scratch fest and figured handing off a Flerken to a super-powered Inhuman is the best option." Will said. Fury didn't respond and got into the car.

"Enjoy your vacation while it lasts. I expect you ready to be in business when you come back. The world's just gotten a lot weirder." Fury said before rolling up his window and driving away.

"You have no idea how right you are." Will said to himself. He looked down at Goose and activated his telepathy. His eyes glowed blue for a second as did Goose's which indicated he performed a mind-link with the Flerken. It would allow Will to understand him as if he was speaking English. "So, Goose I have to ask…why did you scratch Fury in the eye?"

 **[Meow]** Goose replied, and Will understood him. Pretty much, he didn't like the way Fury was holding him.

"Good to know. I won't hold you like that." Will said, picking Goose up and getting him comfortable in his arms. He opened the duffel bag and saw it was filled with Goose's bed and other cat items. "All right, let's get you home and then we'll go shopping for dinner."

 **[Meow]** Goose replied, saying awesome.

Will got on his bike and got Goose situated as best he could so he didn't fall off. He drove as slow as possible so Goose didn't fly away and took him home. He set up Goose's bed and toys in his bedroom and once that was done, Will took his dad's truck and drove him and Goose to the farmers market to buy food. Since Goose was a Flerken and not an earth cat, he wasn't restricted by the same cat laws meaning he could eat whatever he wanted for food and not risk being sick like an earth cat would end up.

He strolled through the farmers market with Goose by his side as if he were a dog which drew a few odd glances from people but other than that they didn't pay him a second thought. He got some fresh vegetables, fruits, got some fresh bread and some steak and then stopped at the fish monger where Mr. Davidson, owner and operator of Davidson Fishing Company was there like he always was for the past 50 years. "Hey, Will. Haven't seen you in a while." Mr. Davidson greeted him as he finished with his customer.

"Hey, Mr. Davidson. It's good to see you." Will said as Goose jumped up a stool so he could see all the fresh fish and choose what he wanted for dinner.

"Oh, who's the little guy?" Mr. Davidson asked.

"This is Goose. I'm just here to pick up some food and figured fish would be nice and get him a treat as well." Will said. He looked at Goose who was eyeing the salmon. "Ok, I'll take a pound of the fresh salmon, a pound of the yellowfin tuna, and one Spanish mackerel."

 **[Meow]** Goose meowed and looked at him causing Will to sigh. "Make that two Spanish Mackerels." Will said and Mr. Davidson got to work.

"Sure thing." Mr. Davidson took out the fish and began preparing them for Will. "I never knew you were a cat person."

"Neither did I but I like the little guy. He's family." Will scratched Goose on the head who purred.

"Very well behaved cat." Mr. Davidson commented. He began filleting the tuna and salmon. He cut off a two little pieces of the tuna, put it on a piece of parchment paper and handed it to Will. Will took one to eat and put the other one down so Goose could eat it. Goose happily crawled over and ate up the piece of tuna as Will scratched him behind the ears. Mr. Davidson finished up with the order and Will paid him. "There you go. It was nice to see you, Will. Don't be a stranger."

"Thanks, Mr. Davidson." Will bid him adieu and went home with Goose, made dinner and the Flerken happily ate its full of tuna. After dinner, Will got ready for bed and slipped under the covers when Goose jumped up and curled up on the pillow next to him. "Good night, Goose."

 **[Meow]** Goose bid him a good night and they both went to bed.

Line Break xxxxx

Will woke up the next morning and saw Goose asleep in his bed, curled up on a pillow. Will carefully got out, so he didn't disturb the Flerken and took a shower. He cleaned up and got dressed in his regular casual clothes and saw Goose wake up. "Hey, buddy. How'd you sleep?" Will asked, scratching Goose behind the ears.

 **[Meow]** Goose stretched a bit and jumped off the bed. He slept great last night.

"All right, let's eat some breakfast." Will and Goose walked into the kitchen. Will grabbed some bacon, bread, eggs, and leftover salmon along with some other ingredients. He cooked up some eggs with the leftover salmon, onions, and herbs to make a scramble along with a side of bacon and toast. He chopped up some extra salmon for Goose and used his powers to turn on the coffee machine. Goose sat on the kitchen counter, patiently waiting for his meal as Will finished cutting up the fish and putting it in a bowl for the Flerken. He levitated a coffee cup from the cabinet and placed it down on the table. He tended to his scramble, adding in the eggs and without looking, levitated the coffee pot into the air and poured some coffee into his cup before putting it back and levitating the milk and sugar over and adding it to his coffee. He grabbed two slices of bread and threw it over his shoulder with both slices expertly landing in the toaster. Goose walked over and pressed down the toast lever.

Will fried up the bacon and plated it along with his scramble when the toast popped up done. He levitated it out of the toaster and onto his plate. He grabbed a fork and knife and sat down at the counter to eat with Goose. Goose began chewing up the fish as Will took a sip of coffee when his phone beeped. He checked it and the house's security system picked up an unknown energy signature. After his initial interaction/kidnapping by Triton to Attilan, Will installed a state-of-the-art security system with a sensor system that could pick up explosive, detonation, and communication frequencies with security cameras along the perimeter that he could control with his phone. His sensor system picked up some kind of energy frequency outside in the backyard. He held out his right hand and the hallway closet opened up to show a regular closet but then the false back slid open to reveal his secret armory. His HK pistol shot into his hand and he quickly moved to the back door. He opened the door with his gun pointed forward ready to act at whatever was happening but stopped himself because he saw it was Crystal and Lockjaw.

"Crystal?" Will walked out into the backyard, not expecting to see her there. He holstered his gun in his belt as Crystal rushed over and hugged him. "Whoa, what's wrong?"

"The seers showed us the Chitauri invasion. All that death and destruction. It was horrible." Crystal said.

"Yeah, you have no idea. But things worked out for the best." Will told her. "How much did the seers show you?"

"A lot. We saw the portal open up and the horde of Chitauri pour through. I tried to convince Black Bolt that we should come down and help but he wouldn't." Crystal said as Will hugged her.

"It's fine. It's a good thing that you didn't because the Inhuman's sudden arrival would have complicated things. The Avengers and I handled it." Will assured her. "But thank you. I can't believe you came all this way to check up on me. I'm very flattered."

Lockjaw came over and licked his face, causing him to chuckle. "And I'm glad to see you here as well, Lockjaw. Did Black Bolt send you?"

"No, we came alone. Black Bolt and Medusa don't know we're here." Crystal told him.

"I thought you weren't supposed to come to earth." Will said and she nodded.

"We're not." Crystal replied. "But after seeing what happened, I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"I'm much better now that you're here." Will said to her and she smiled. "Since you're here, let me show you what earth is like. Think of it like your own min-vacation."

"That sounds great." She replied.

"Come on." Will escorted her into the house when he saw Lockjaw walk up and knew he wouldn't fit. "Sorry, Lockjaw. We make doggie doors but not your size."

Lockjaw barked before vanishing and teleporting inside the house right into the living. Room. "Or we could do that." Will said.

"So, this is your home?" Crystal walked around at the place.

"Yup. I grew up here. It's mine now." Will told her as she smiled at how small and quaint it was compared to Attilan. She walked over to the wall where some pictures were hung up that showed his childhood ranging from his preschool years up to his time at college. "It must be strange seeing all this. It's a lot different from Attilan, isn't it?"

"Very." Crystal walked over to the kitchen counter, smelling something delicious when she saw the Flerken and instantly backed up. "What is that doing here?"

"Who, Goose?" Will asked, walking over and scratched Goose behind the ears. "He's my friend."

"Will, that's not a simple house cat. You have no idea how dangerous it is." Crystal warned him and Lockjaw growled at Goose who was unamused and began to clean himself.

"You mean that he's a Flerken?" Will asked and Crystal was shocked that he knew what a Flerken was. "Don't worry about Goose. He's family and he likes me. You don't have anything to worry about. Right, Goose?"

 **[Meow]** Goose replied, saying ok as he got back to work cleaning himself.

"It's ok, Crystal. Goose is family." Will assured her. He pulled out a chair for her and she hesitated for a bit before sitting down at the kitchen counter, wary of the Flerken. "Don't worry. Here, since you're here on earth, allow me to introduce you to earth food."

He grabbed some cups from the cabinet and opened the fridge to pull out some orange juice. He poured one cup with juice and another with coffee. "Here." Will handed the cup as Crystal looked over the orange liquid. "It's orange juice. It's something that everyone enjoys."

Crystal took a sip and her eyes went wide-eyed from the taste causing Will to chuckle. He grabbed bowel from the cabinet and poured some for Lockjaw as the large dog easily gobbled it up. "This is amazing." Crystal said, drinking all of it very quickly.

"Take it easy. This is barely the beginning. There's a lot of earth I have to introduce you to." Will said, taking the fork, and putting some of the scramble on it. "Here, try this."

Crystal took the fork and ate some of Will's breakfast and she was in love. "This is amazing. We don't have eggs on Attilan." Crystal told her as Will took a bite of toast.

"Yeah, I figured that based on the vegetable soup I had there." Will said, giving Lockjaw the other piece of toast and the large dog happily ate it up. "And I'm guessing you don't have fish either."

"No, we don't." Crystal happily ate the scramble and it was the most delicious thing she had in a long time. The one thing earth had on Attilan was food. She looked and saw another cup with a black liquid. "What's this?"

"This is coffee. Pretty much the lifeblood for many people on the planet. Here, try it." Will took a sip of his coffee as Crystal picked up and took a sip, wincing at the bitter taste which made him chuckle. "Yeah, it's bitter the first time you try it. Adding in some milk and sugar helps with that."

Will poured in a little milk and added some sugar to the coffee and Crystal took another sip but still winced. "It'll take some getting used to." Will told her.

"I'm not sure if I want to." She replied. "I would see what the Seers show us of earth, and never did I think I'd ever be here."

"Well, this is just my house. If you really want to experience earth, then we need to go outside." Will gestured to the front door. "Come on, you got to show me around Attilan, I'll show you around earth."

Crystal smiled and walked over with him to the front door and Lockjaw followed them when Will stopped. "Sorry, Lockjaw. There are dogs here but you're too big for earth standards."

Lockjaw whimpered at not being able to come so Crystal rubbed him on the head. "Sorry, Lockjaw." Crystal kissed him on the head.

"You can stay here so long as you don't trash the place. Hang on." Will quickly went to the bathroom and filled up the bathtub with water. "The bathtub's filled with water if you get thirsty and I'll bring back something for you to eat. What can Lockjaw eat?"

"He can eat anything. He's not like an earth dog." Crystal replied.

"All right. I'll bring back something for you. Just relax here and get some rest." Will said. Lockjaw barked and licked him on the face before moving over to the living room and getting comfortable on the rug and laying down. "Goose, stay here and don't cause any ruckus."

 **[Meow]** Goose replied, saying ok as he got back to cleaning himself.

"Well, Princess Crystal, shall we?" Will held out arm and Crystal hooked hers with his. He grabbed his keys and helmet and they walked out the front door to his motorcycle.

"What is this?" She asked as Will put the helmet on her head.

"It's a motorcycle." Will got on the motorcycle, inserted the keys and turned on the ignition and it roared to life. She was intrigued with the motorcycle, having seen it a lot in the video transmissions they intercept from the satellites orbiting the planet. It was a little low-tech but intriguing, nonetheless. "Get on."

She hesitated for a bit, trying to figure out how to get on but remembered what she always saw on those old videos and did the same thing, getting behind Will. "Now what?" She asked, her voice muffled a bit from the helmet.

"Now, just hold on." Will pulled up the motorcycle's kickstand and drove from his house to the boardwalk. Crystal nearly fell off during the initial acceleration but quickly wrapped her arms around Will's midsection and held on tight.

"Is this safe?" She asked and Will chuckled.

"It is. Don't worry and hold on tight!" Will shouted, kicking up the speed and heading towards the boardwalk. He drove through the suburbs and Crystal saw how open spaced everything is. She was accustomed to growing up in Attilan and while it did have its open spaces, it was nothing compared to what she's seen so far. She looked around in amazement as Will drove them in one direction and she noticed more cars and the area around them change a bit. She began to see more tall buildings, people walking around and enjoying the weather and she saw something in the distance. She saw large structures in the distance that she didn't recognize but also noticed that the closer they got, the more people there seemed to be.

Will drove them down a road close to the water and parked his bike in an empty space on the side of the road. He took his keys and helped Crystal off the bike, taking the helmet off her head and putting it back on his bike in one of the compartments on the side saddlebag. Crystal smoothed out her hair and looked around.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"The Boardwalk. Come on." Will led her to the Boardwalk and she saw it was like all the pictures she saw on his phone. There were stores lit up with lights with a lot of humans ranging from small children to grandparents enjoying themselves with games or food. "What do you think?"

"There's a lot of activity here." Crystal was a little unsure of everything here but that ended when Will held her hand.

"Don't worry. I'm right here." Will led her through the Boardwalk and showed her the sights. He showed her the old James Candy Company and had a blast showing her all the flavors of salt water taffy. She was a bit apprehensive of eating something with salt water but he assured her it was just a name. After her first bite she was hooked and they walked out with a large bag of assorted flavors. He noticed Crystal was still a little shell-shocked with all of this so he took her to the end of the boardwalk pier where the two could have a moment of peace. "Everything ok?"

She shrugged her shoulders as she looked out at the ocean. "Everything here just seems so…chaotic." She told him.

"At first it may seem crazy but when you take a closer look, you see there's some balance and order. The boardwalk…" Will gestured around them. "…it can seem chaotic and crazy at times but when you take a step back, you'll see patterns."

"Like what?" She asked.

"Well, the small and orderly flow of lines at concession stands or the tourists walking all along the pier. Sure, it may seem like they're going nowhere but nothing is random. Everything has an underlying cause. It just takes a second to find it." Will told her. "It's called controlled chaos. If things really were crazy, then this place would be a madhouse and it's not. There's an underlying understanding of how things work here. I guess when you grow up somewhere, it's just second nature. A lot of earth is like that. Take the ocean for example."

Crystal looked out to the ocean and saw the waves crashing against the sand. "It may seem chaotic and unorganized but there's a structure to it." He told her.

"I can control the elements, but this…there is so much water, it looks like it keeps coming towards us." Crystal said, causing Will to chuckle.

"It's just the tide. The ocean rises and falls by slight variations in gravity between the earth, the sun and the moon." Will told her which surprised her. "It may seem chaotic but it's a set balance and order that been around for as long as the planet. Nothing like Attilan."

"No. Everything there was very organized and controlled." She told him.

"Yeah, and zero fun." He told her as she gave him a funny look. "Oh come on, admit it. Before I got there, you just had Lockjaw. There's nothing wrong with a little fun every now and then. It's why you came here, isn't it? To have some fun?"

"Maybe." She replied, playfully bumping shoulders with him. She looked out to the city in awe when she remembered the footage of the invasion. "It's hard to believe that your people experienced their first alien encounter and they go about their lives like nothing happened."

"Oh, I wouldn't say like nothing happened." Will said as she looked at him. "It's true, the Chitauri invasion was definitely an eye opener for the world. Singular proof that we're not alone in the galaxy and if things had gone differently, a lot of people would be more on edge but they're not because of the efforts of me and my team."

"Your Inhuman team?" She asked but he shook his head no.

"I'm the only Inhuman on Earth. The rest of my team are just unique individuals like me. The planet and its people are a lot weirder than Black Bolt might think." He told her. "Anyway, it's not just my team that keeps everyone safe. After the Battle of New York, pretty much every single government organization is putting their resources into planetary defense to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. And SHIELD is monitoring them all to make sure nothing bad happens and the alien technology doesn't end up in the wrong hands. That'd be a massive headache the world doesn't need."

"The seers show us a lot of earth and we've seen all the pain and violence." Crystal said.

"Unfortunately, the cycle of violence seems to be something that's bred into every single species in the galaxy. Humans aren't any different but with the Chitauri invasion, it just made things a lot more complicated." Will said. "But it's my job and the work SHIELD and I do help keeps people safe."

"But they don't know it was you. You wore your mask the entire time." She said and he nodded.

"And I want to keep it that way. I don't need all that attention and if anything, it'd make my job harder. To the rest of the world, Aegis and Will Detmer are two different people." Will told her but she was a bit confused on the whole thing. "And I see that I confused you."

"A little. We don't have to worry about such a thing on Attilan. We're proud of our Inhuman heritage." Crystal told him. "It's something you shouldn't be ashamed of."

"And I'm not." Will told her. "True, when I first found out I was different I didn't handle it the best way but it's a part of who I am now and I'm not ashamed of it whatsoever. But I've also lived on earth my entire life and watched enough sci-fi movies to know what would happen if I proclaimed to the world that I was half-alien."

"What would happen?" She asked.

"I'd end up in a government lab with scientists poking and prodding me to figure out how I can do the things I can do." He told her. "People are afraid of what they don't understand, and the world doesn't need that right now. I'm better off in the shadows without people knowing who Aegis really is. The only thing I need is knowing that these people are safe. It's the whole point of SHIELD, to protect people."

"Well, the humans are lucky to have you." Crystal said with a smile. "I still think you'd be happier in Attilan being around people like you."

"Maybe, but I think if you get to know Earth more that you'll like it here." Will told her. "We may be Inhumans but a part of us is still human."

"I'm not sure how a lot of people in Attilan would view that." Crystal replied.

"Well, we take it one day at a time. And I'm glad you came down here." Will said with a smile of his own. "You think this can be a regular thing?"

"I'm not sure. Medusa can be so overprotective." Crystal reminded him.

"True, but you also have a teleporting dog and will be visiting one of the heroes who protected the planet. Something tells me that she'll be a little at ease if you're here with me." He told her and she smiled.

"Maybe. I wouldn't mind coming back to see more of earth." She said. "And you. When you left months ago, Attilan wasn't the same."

"Well, if it's any consolation…I missed you too." He said. Crystal smiled and leaned in close so Will met her halfway and kissed her. She kissed back and reached her hands up around his neck while Will reached around her waist and pulled her close. They pulled apart for a brief second as Will kissed her cheek, causing her to chuckle. "I guess a kiss from a beautiful princess is a good reward for saving the planet as well."

Crystal chuckled and kissed him again and with the sun shining down it looked like a moment ripped out of a movie but was soon interrupted by a familiar shouting. "WILL!" He heard as he and Crystal pulled apart only for Will to be blindsided by two small children. One girl about 10 and a boy about 9 and when he saw them, he recognized who they were.

"Lisa, Frankie Jr, what are you two doing here?" He asked, kneeling down to their height and lifting them up in a massive hug. They smiled and laughed, and Crystal smiled at the scene. Will put them down on the ground and ruffled their hair. "What brings you two miscreants to my boardwalk?"

"Mom and dad took us here for a day off." Lisa said and, on that cue, their dad Frank Castle and his wife Maria Castle walked up to them. "We were heading to the Ferris Wheel when we saw you."

"Yeah, you two little munchkins kind of ruined a moment I was having." He told them, ruffling her hair. "But I'll let it slide considering it's you two. Hey, Uncle Frank."

"How you doing, kid?" Frank asked, walking up and hugging Will and he hugged back. "God, look at you, you just keep getting bigger."

"Eh, what can I say. I'm just lucky." Will replied. Frank Castle was a decorated US Marine and soldier. He and Will's dad operated together when Frank was just a grunt and before Will's dad left the service. They operated together on several joint taskforce missions and became good friends like he was with Rhodey. Whenever Frank came back to the states, they always hung out. As Will grew up, he considered Frank and everyone like family and it's why he called him Uncle Frank even though he wasn't really his uncle. "What brings you four to Atlantic city?"

"I've got some time off before I need to redeploy back so a family vacation out seemed like a good idea and some time out of the city was best. It's a madhouse there." Frank said and Will nodded.

"You don't have to explain that to me. It's good to see you." Will then took Crystal's hand and pulled her close. "It actually allows me to make some introductions. Crystal, this is Frank Castle, he was good friends with my dad. This is his wife Maria and their two rascals Lisa and Frank Jr. Everyone this is Crystal, my girlfriend."

Crystal smiled when she heard him say that and kissed him on the cheek. "Wow, she's really pretty." Lisa said with a smile, causing the adults to laugh.

"And she's smart and funny, Lisa. Kind of like your mom." Will replied.

"Very smooth." Maria said as Frank kissed her head.

"I like your outfit." Lisa said and Crystal smiled and knelt down to Lisa's height.

"Thank you. My sister made it for me. I like your shirt." Crystal pointed to Lisa's pink shirt and white jacket. "They're very nice."

"How'd you too meet?" Frank asked and Crystal wasn't sure how to answer that given Will didn't want people to know about his Inhuman nature.

"Kind of a happy accident. I wound up in the middle of nowhere for work and I met Crystal. We hit it off and she came here to surprise me, and I've been showing her around the boardwalk when you four showed up." Will replied. "She's one of a kind."

"Lucky you, kid. Guess you got your dad's penchant for charm." Frank joked.

"What can I say? Detmer's are charming individuals. Anyway, we were relaxing after heading to James and I figured that I should introduce Crystal to Rita's Italian ice while she's here if you're up for it? I'm buying." Will suggested and Lisa and Frank Jr. instantly lit up when they heard dad.

"Dad, can we?!" They both begged.

"All right, let's go. I could use a pick-me up myself." Frank said as the group made their way to Rita's Italian ice and Frozen Custard. Best place to get ice-cream in the city. Will and Frank got simple vanilla soft serve cones while Maria helped Crystal and the kids pick. "She seems unique."

"You have no idea how right you are." Will replied, looking at her. After Will underwent his Inhuman transformation, he didn't put much focus into dating or finding a relationship because of his alien DNA. How would a girlfriend feel about him being part alien and having these powers? With Crystal, it wasn't even an issue. She didn't look at him any different and she was someone he could see having a real relationship with. Plus, he was dating a princess so that was a fringe benefit.

"I'm glad, kid but in our line of work a relationship is going to require more work than normal." Frank said as Will looked at him. "I've been in the Marines long enough to know the look and posture of someone who's seen combat."

"Forgot who I was dealing with." Will licked some of his ice-cream.

"How long?" Frank asked.

"Not long after the funeral." Will told him. "But it's not the armed services if that's what you're thinking. My line of work is different."

"How so?" Frank asked as Will looked outside the door to New York City.

"That was my last mission." Will told him. Frank looked out to the city and immediately understood what he meant. "You'll understand why I can't go into detail."

"Hey, far be it from me to mess with the Intelligence agency but you sure picked a heck of a line of work, kid." Frank told him.

"More so it chose me than I chose it." Will replied. "But it's my job and I help a lot of people doing it like you do."

Will look at Maria, Frank Jr, Lisa, and Crystal and smiled. "It's dangerous but worth it."

"Amen to that." Frank replied. Maria and the others finished with their order and walked around the boardwalk. Crystal got to know Frank, Maria and the kids and she was enjoying herself. She didn't really have friends to talk to on Attilan since most of the people there didn't interact with her because she was the princess but on earth it was different. Will was right, she was enjoying herself and the food was another highlight. They walked around the boardwalk and enjoyed themselves, playing some of the games and going on a few rides. Seeing Crystal's reaction to the rollercoaster was hilarious and he was glad she was enjoying herself.

They got some of pizza and Will introduced her to more of the food there and she was loving it. It was getting late so Frank and Maria had to head home with the kids soon. Will and Crystal walked them to their car when he saw some punks screwing around and hassling innocent people who were trying to enjoy themselves. They walked over the car when the punks began to get more violent after what looked like a kiddy stroller accidently dinged the door of one of the cars. Will looked and saw the shouting and confrontation and knew he had to deescalate it quickly.

"Hang on. Crystal, wait here." Will told her as he walked over to see four tattooed and douchey looking men and a woman in an over-sexualized outfit were shouting at the father of a small family of four.

"What the hell is the matter with you, you stupid son of a bitch. You're gonna pay for this. Do you have any idea how much my car costs?" The woman asked the husband as the mother shielded her two kids.

"Whoa, everyone calm down." Will got in between the two to deescalate the situation. "There's no need for all this yelling. We're in a crowded place. Let's all just take a moment to relax."

"I'm not going to relax. That asshole dinged my car. Look at it!" She said, pointing to the car where there was a small, unnoticeable scratch.

"That? That'll buff right out. No harm done and he didn't mean to do it in the first place." Will told her.

"Yeah, it was an accident. I'm sorry. The stroller wheel got caught up on the grass." The husband said.

"You calling my woman a liar?" One of the dudes asked, stepping forward and pushing the husband to the ground so Will got in front of him and stopped him.

"Ok, that's enough of that. Let's not let this get out of hand." Will told him. "Guys, come on. There's no need for this."

"Unless you want to end up like he will in a few seconds, I suggest you get out of the way." The dude said, pushing Will back.

"And unless you and your socially challenged friends want to involve the police then I suggest you all calm down." Will told him, helping the husband up off the ground and over to his family.

"What the hell did you say you son of a bitch?!" The dude swung at Will while his back was turned but Will blocked his arm and threw him over his hip. The dude's friends pulled out switchblades and attacked Will, but they were just punks. Will grabbed one of their hands and broke it before kicking out his feet and kicking him in the face. He kicked the second in the stomach before blocking the third one who tried to stab him in the side. He took the knife, broke his wrist, kicked out his leg and punched him across the face. The girl pulled out a knife from her purse and tried to stab him, but he grabbed the knife and kicked her feet out from under her when the asshole who started the whole thing reached into his belt and pulled out a pistol. Will grabbed it by the muzzle, broke his wrist, pulled the gun out of his hand, and smacked him in the face with it, taking out all four punks and the crazy lady.

"You escalated that very quickly." Will told him, turning the safety on the pistol and saw the serial numbers filed off. "Serial numbers filed off. Your day just got a lot worse."

The bystanders all clapped and cheered for Will as two Atlantic City police officers showed up. Will looked and recognized the officers. "Donnelly, Adams, hey guys." Will waved and they waved back. "Got four disorderly conducts, assault with deadly weapons, illegal weapons possession and attempted assault."

"Right." Officer Adams got on the radio and called in a police cruiser. A few minutes later the cruiser arrived, and all four punks and the girl were arrested.

"You have no idea who you messed with pal! You're so dead!" the woman shouted.

"Wow, don't know how you put up with her." Will said to one of the punks before closing the door of the police cruiser and they were driven to the police station for booking.

"Nicely handled, kid." Frank said as Will nodded.

"Sorry, about that." Will hugged Frank, Maria, Lisa, and Frank Jr. "It was nice seeing you again."

"Yes, it was. Come into the city one day and we'll have dinner." Maria said. "Bring Crystal to."

"Sounds great. I'll let you know." Will replied as they got in the car.

"Bye Crystal!" Lisa and Frank Jr. waved goodbye and Crystal smiled and waved at them. Frank waved one last time before driving his family back to the city.

"Sorry for all that. I didn't mean to interrupt our date." Will said to her.

"It's all right." Crystal replied. "I've had an amazing day. I'm glad I came here. Although, I'm worried about how Lockjaw is doing."

"Let's go check on him and I can make dinner if you're hungry." Will suggested. She liked the idea so Will drove them back to his home. Crystal and Will walked inside and were greeted to the sight of Lockjaw sleeping on the carpet with Goose curled up on his head. "Huh, I was not expecting that."

"Me neither. Lockjaw is pretty defensive and Flerkens are known to be unpredictable. Where did you get him?" Crystal asked.

"I didn't get him so much as he belonged to my birthmother." He replied.

"Your birthmother owned a Flerken?" Crystal was confused at that statement. How did a human stumble upon a Flerken and keep it as a house pet?

"Why don't you wake up Lockjaw and I'll get started on some dinner." Will told her and she nodded. She woke up Lockjaw and Goose while Will got to work on dinner and decided to make some pasta. He had enough to make a simple spaghetti algio e olio for dinner with enough for Lockjaw and some more fish for Goose. While he made dinner, he introduced Crystal to wine, and she liked it more so that coffee. He told her more about how he got Goose and what he had to do with his mother. Crystal was intrigued when Will told her that his mother was a member of Kree Starforce, but he reassured her that he never had any interaction with her and there was no reason the Kree would come back to earth.

Will told Crystal more of earth food and had her help him make dinner and it led to some comedic moments and got them closer. Will and Crystal had an amazing dinner despite Lockjaw's sloppy eating. After dinner and the dishes, the two got comfortable on the couch and Will introduced her to more of earth with television.

"What's a Kardashian?" Crystal asked with the remote in her hand. She stopped the channel surfing and stumbled on _Keeping up with the Kardashians._

"Them along with most of reality TV will only diminish your value on humanity." Will joked. She changed the channel and stumbled on the Sci-Fi channel that was having a Star Wars Marathon. "Oh, Star Wars."

"Star Wars. I remember getting glimpses of that on the video feeds we intercepted but they were only pieces." Crystal said.

"Well, then this is a good you're here on earth." Will and Crystal relaxed into the couch and began watching Star Wars episode 4. A few minutes into the movie, Crystal snuggled into Will's side, so he put his arm around her and pulled her close. He kissed her forehead, but she brought him down for a quick kiss. "An amazing day out on the boardwalk, James Salt Water Taffy, Rita's ice-cream, amazing dinner and Star Wars with a beautiful girl at my side. I know this was about making sure your first day on earth was great, but this was great for me too."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Crystal kissed him one more with more passion. Will kissed back, cupping her cheek, and leaning back on the couch and pulling Crystal with him. The two broke apart briefly to catch their breath but got back to kissing as Will ran his hands down her side and Crystal moved her hands up his muscular arms and shoulders. Before the kissing went further, Crystal's communication band beeped. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Any luck it's a wrong call?" Will asked, laying down on the couch as Crystal sat up and checked her band.

"Nope." Crystal activated her band. "Crystal here."

 _"_ _Crystal, where are you? I checked your room and you weren't there."_ Medusa spoke as Will and Crystal sighed in exhaustion.

"I'll be right there." Crystal replied, shutting off her communication band. "I need to go."

"Yeah, I figured." Will replied. Crystal got off of Will and straightened her clothes and fixed her hair when Will gave her another quick kiss. "Here's to hoping that she lets you come back to earth to visit again."

"Me too." Crystal replied, kissing him once more before walking over to Lockjaw.

"Oh, wait!" Will grabbed the bag of James Salt Water Taffy and put it into a plastic bag along with some things from the refrigerator including earth food like the fresh fish he had left over and the steak and meat he bought from the farmers market. He put in some bottles of wine and a bottle of Jack Daniels Whiskey. He finished up with a carton of Haagen-Dazs ice-cream from the freezer. "Here."

"What's this for?" She asked.

"A gift. And hoping that the earth food is enough to sway your sister to take it easy on you and to not come here and kill me. By the way, take it easy with the wine and the Jack Daniels. Alcohol is dangerous so drink very carefully." He said causing her to chuckle. Will kissed her one more time. "I hope I see you again."

"I'll see you again, I promise." She replied, kissing him once more before petting Lockjaw on the head. "Ok, Lockjaw. Back to Attilan."

Lockjaw barked and teleported them back to Attilan, leaving Will and Goose alone. **[Meow]** Goose spoke, saying sorry she left.

"Thanks, buddy." Will scratched him on the head. He sat down on the couch to watch Star Wars and Goose curled up next to him.

Line Break xxxxx

Will woke up the next day and decided to go see Tony in the city and see how he was doing and help with the Tower. He got dressed in jeans and a blue t-shirt and slipped his HK pistol into his belt holster behind his back and hid it with his shirt. He grabbed his helmet and keys and drove his motorcycle to the gas station. He pulled up at the local garage/gas station and saw Jack the owner was busy with a car repair.

"Hey, Jack." Will waved at him, putting the kickstand down and turning his bike off.

"Hey, Will. I'll be with you in a second." Jack told him.

"No, it's ok. I got it." Will told him. He grabbed the gas nozzle and began filling up the tank in his bike when a pick up truck drove up behind him. Two men got out of the car and began arguing over some kind of bullshit something like work or whatever. The smaller, bald guy walked over to the pump behind Will and saw it wasn't working so he walked over to Will.

"Nice bike." He said to Will.

"Thanks. It was my dad's." Will replied.

"Do you think I can get that pump from you?" He asked as Will checked the pump meter and saw he needed a few more gallons.

"I'm almost done." Will replied.

"You see I need the god damn pump right now, you here me?" He warned him as his larger, tattooed friend walked up next to him.

"Can I help you all out here?" Jack asked.

"No, it's ok Jack. I'm almost done." Will told him before looking at the bald guy. "Look, I'm almost done and then I'll be gone."

"No, you're done now. Hit the pump." He told his friend and his friend shut the pump off.

"You want me to ring you up, Will?" Jack asked. Will looked back at the gas meter and saw he still needed a few more gallons.

"I wasn't done yet." He replied.

"I think you are." The guy warned him. Jack and the other workers in the garage began to take steps back and didn't want to get involved. Will took a breath to himself and kept his cool.

"Whatever you're thinking…you might want to rethink it." Will told him, causing the man to chuckle.

"Rethink it. He wants me to rethink it." The guy joked to his friend. Will reached over to the pump but the man got in his face. "You aren't turning that back on."

Will didn't bother to speak to him and turned the gas pump back on and kept refueling his bike. "Oh, you just fucked up." The guy said. "Why don't we step around side the building, so I kick your fucking ass upside your shoulders."

"What's the matter? Don't want an audience to when you go to jail?" Will asked as the guy grabbed his arm but Will pulled his arm free, took the gas pump and slammed it into his gut before smashing his head into the gas meter. The other guy punched Will, but he blocked it, punched him in the face and kicked him back, knocking him into the pickup. The bald guy grabbed Will from behind, but Will locked his arms, broke his wrists and headbutted him before smashing his head onto the hood of the pickup. The larger guy threw out punches but missed as Will uppercut him, kicked him in the groin and smashed his face into the pickup truck window before kicking his feet out from under him. "You idiots just earned yourselves a long time in jail."

"You ok, Will?" Jack asked.

"I'm fine, Jack. Call the police, would you?" Will asked and Jack nodded, calling them on his cellphone. Will knelt down to the bald guy and slapped him upside his bleeding head. "Who put you up to this?"

"Nobody." He replied with a chuckle. Will sighed a bit before taking out his pistol, cocking the slide and pointing it at his head.

"Whoever put you up to his has no idea the shitstorm he brought down." Will took out his SHIELD badge to show him and the man immediately gulped. "You two idiots assaulted a federal agent which earns you both minimum of 8 years in jail. But I could end that now and kill you both."

Will placed the gun on his forehead. "Give me the name of the person who told you to attack me." Will ordered.

"I don't know." He replied. Will pistol whipped him across the face.

"Try again or this time it's a bullet in the leg." Will warned him.

"All right. Cole Midas." He told him. "Midas wants you dead."

"Thank you." Will pistol whipped him once more and knocked him out.

The police soon arrived and arrested both men and took Will to the station to take his statement and to fill out the paperwork that would send both men to jail for assaulting a SHIELD agent. Will finished up the paperwork at the front desk and was ready to leave when an officer walked over to him. "Will, Captain Menendez would like a word." He said and Will nodded. He was escorted through the police station and noticed some officers and detectives were eyeing him. He walked through the station until he arrived at his dad's former office which was now being used by Captain Alicia Menendez, his dad's former lieutenant. Along with Alicia was two other Lieutenants, a police sergeant and the head of Vice.

"Hey, Will." Alicia said with a smile, shaking his hand.

"Hey, Alicia." Will shook her hand and looked around the office. "Like what you've done with the place."

"I wish this was a social call but it's not. It's about the two people who attacked you." Alicia told him. "It wasn't an accident or a case of a man with anger management."

"One of our CI's informed us about a recent greenlight on a civilian target and that target is you." Lieutenant Jones told him.

"Yeah, I know. The bald one who started the whole thing told me." Will said.

"With the greenlight, we're going to put you under protective custody. I have four officers ready to follow you and keep you safe while we work on getting the green light lifted." Alicia said. "Don't worry, we'll keep you safe. Your dad always taught us to take care of our own and that hasn't changed."

Will chuckled a bit before calming down and facing them. "I appreciate that Alicia, really I do. But if anything your officers would only get in my way. Whoever greenlit me for a hit has no idea who they messed with." Will said, taking out his SHIELD badge and showing them and they all were shocked to see it. "I know it's not what you were expecting but I've been busy since my parents' funeral. I can handle myself. The only thing I need from you guys is to let me handle this and be ready because you'll probably be getting various calls for arrests."

"You sure about that? This is serious and you'll need all the help you can get." Alicia told him.

"Don't worry. They're the ones who are gonna need help. I've dealt with worse scumbags when I was in training but I appreciate your concern. I'll be fine." Will told them, walking away and heading back home to gear up.

While Will was at the police station, a group of 7 men armed with guns had driven to his home with the full intent to plant a bomb and blow it to pieces. They checked the house for Will but he wasn't there. "All right, he's not here. Get that thing set up." One of them said as another opened up a bag to reveal some C4 explosive with a remote detonator.

 **[Meow]** They heard and aimed their guns down to see a small cat sitting there on the floor.

"Relax, it's just a cat." One of the guys said.

"So, take care of it. The boss said to send a message." Another said. One of the guys cocked his gun and aimed it at the cat which was a big mistake. Goose growled and hissed at them before opening his mouth where his tentacles lashed out and grabbed all the men. They all screamed in fear and pain as they were smacked around the kitchen and hallway before they were swallowed one by one. One of the men grabbed onto the counter with everything he had to save his life.

"DEAR GOD HELP ME!" He screamed before he was swallowed as well. Goose happily meowed before crawling over to the bag of C4 and sat himself down, waiting for Will to come home.

Will eventually drove back home and saw two cars parked by his house. His home alert system had informed him of the break-in but they were taken care of. He parked his bike and walked into his home to see guns and weapons on the floor, a small duffle bag of C4 and Goose laying there like nothing was wrong.

"Good boy, Goose. Good boy." Will scratched him on the head and collected the guns. "Do you mind spitting them out?"

Goose began to hack and cough like he had a hairball and spat out 7 bad guys onto the floor. All of whom were unconscious, looked like they went through the hell and were covered in goop/spit. "Thanks buddy." Will's eyes glowed blue and he quickly wiped their memories and downloaded valuable Intel from them. Will then took out his phone and dialed 911. "Hello, Atlantic City PD, this is SHIELD agent William Detmer, Authorization November-Echo-Six-One-Six-India-November requesting police units at my home for arrest of 7 individuals with breaking and entering, attempted murder, and drug trafficking."

The police soon arrived and took the men into custody and to jail. Will got himself comfortable with a glass of whiskey and sat himself at the kitchen counter. He had his laptop out and was doing some research while Goose happily ate his dinner. Will was using his SHIELD clearance to access the archive files, FBI and DEA shared records, along with the Atlantic PD database to compile an information packet on the group that greenlit him for killing.

"Edi, do you have the data file all set up?" Will asked, sipping some of his whiskey.

 _"_ _I'm combed through all SHIELD, FBI, and Atlantic City Police files and have completed the data file on your attackers."_ Edi replied and began bringing up all the data files on the group he was dealing with. " _The organization you are dealing with is known as the Southern Front. According to FBI and DEA records, the Southern Front originated as a White Supremacist prison gang 15 years ago and has since expanded their operations to drug trafficking, prostitution and extortion. But the factor that makes them unique is their access to heavy weaponry. Their leader Leonard King Midas is currently serving three consecutive life sentences at Ryker's island penitentiary with his son Cole Midas controlling the gang in his absence. While King Midas remains in prison, Atlantic City PD CI's believe he is still controlling the gang from inside the prison. Captain Menendez suspects you were greenlit after your altercation with Astrid Heicer."_

Edi showed her picture and she was the woman who was with the group of four he stopped from assaulting the family yesterday. " _She is Cole Midas's girlfriend and after her arrest, he greenlit the attack on you."_ Edi informed him.

"Well, too bad for Cole and his father that they went after the wrong person. Edi, bring up a map of all suspected Southern Front hideout and fronts." Will said and Edi compiled up a map of the suspected areas in and around Atlantic City. "Now overlay them with the information I got from the idiots who attacked my house."

Edi did and it highlighted 12 areas throughout the city that the Southern Front operated out of. "This is gonna be fun." Will walked over to his closet and removed the false back. He grabbed his weapons belt and holster and strapped it around his waist before grabbing his HK pistol and checking it over. He loaded it and put it in the holster before he grabbed his flechette bands and put them around his ankles and then grabbed his shoulder pellet holsters. He grabbed his combat gloves and forearm guards and made sure they were set in place. He synched up his touchpad and downloaded all the information from his laptop to it.

He grabbed his TDI/KRISS Vector submachine gun and tactical ammo vest. This situation didn't need Aegis, he could handle it as Will Detmer. Today, Southern Front was going extinct. "Edi, keep a communication channel open with the Atlantic PD and Captain Menendez. They are going to be very busy today." Will said.

 _"_ _Of course, Will. Happy Hunting."_ She replied as Will scratched Goose on the head.

"Don't wait up for me, buddy." He told him and left the house. He got on his motorcycle, put on his helmet and drove out into the city to wreak some havoc.

His first target was a warehouse by the water which Southern Front used as the main point for their coke and meth distribution and it was one of their biggest income avenues with millions in drugs being pushed out daily. Because of its importance, it was guarded by 50 gang members all armed with heavy weapons, but they were nothing to Will. Outside the warehouse, 10 gang members were standing guard with another 5 on over watch position. One of the snipers thought he saw something move by the street and took a closer look with his sniper only for someone to grab him from behind and put him in a chokehold. He quickly passed out and was zip cuffed. One of the other over watch sentries came over and saw his friend passed out but he was quickly knocked out with a blow to the back of the head. The other three on over watch raised their guns but they heard a metal clink and saw a small pellet on the ground. It then released a green mist and after a few seconds, they all collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Inside the warehouse the other 35 gang members were lounging about and guarding over the drugs and the cooks. Some were relaxing on couches while others were playing cards or watching TV. One of the guards by the cargo door heard movement and loud thuds which was followed by gunfire and then screaming. "WATCH OUT! HELP ME! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! RUN!"

The men in the warehouse grabbed their guns and aimed them at the door while all the drug cooks moved to the side to avoid any gunfire. There were 20 men on the ground floor with the remaining 15 all set up on the second floor rails and walkways. They kept their guns set and were waiting for something to happen when the fighting outside stopped.

"Jones?!" One of them called out to his friend. "Anyone out there?!"

There wasn't any answer so one of the men slowly moved to the door and grabbed the handle. He looked at the others and signaled them to be ready…then yanked the door open to see nothing outside except for all the men knocked out and tied up together.

"Who the hell did this?" One of them asked.

"He's over here." Will answered, appearing behind one of the people on the second floor and knocked him out with a rifle-butt to the back of the head. Will shot five of them in the leg and ran across the second floor railing, shooting more of the Southern Front Gangsters in the legs, arms, or just taking them down with good old-fashion ass kicking. The members on the first floor opened fire at him but they missed and killed their own. Once Will finished up on the second floor, he threw down a UV flashbang and smoke pellets that concussed them and obscured their vision. Will jumped down from the second floor with gunfire before he vanished into the smoke and the only thing that could be heard was more gunfire, the sound of punching, kicking, and screaming. When the smoke settled, Will stood there in the middle of the drug lab like nothing was wrong surrounded by unconscious bodies of 35 Southern Front gang members.

"Well, that was fun." Will wiped his hands and began zip cuffing all the gang members and the drug cookers before dragging them all outside and putting them all together. At the end, all 50 members were cuffed together outside and Will called the police to come arrest them. "Well, one down eleven more to go."

He got to work and within about two hours, took down the other 11 Southern Front operations and took down every single gang member he came across. The Atlantic City police force was busy arresting and seizing everything in Will's aftermath which amounted to arresting all 500 Southern Front members and seizing over 35 million in revenue. Will finished blowing up their last weapons cache when he heard a radio call come in about suspected Southern Front members organizing at a warehouse. He arrived at the warehouse to check it out when a gas grenade landed next to him. He began coughing up a storm before he passed out and saw people walk up to him before he completely lost consciousness.

Will woke up, feeling groggy and found that he was tied up to a chair with his hands handcuffed behind his back. Will shook his head and found himself outside somewhere and judging by how dark it was and the sound of cicadas, he was outside. He was punched across the face and although it felt like a flea bite, he acted like it hurt. He looked around and saw 8 Southern Front gang members armed with guns and all his weapons and gear were on a table by the side. He looked and saw the trees and sand bars and knew he was in the small inland island/marshes.

"I don't suppose any of you gentlemen have a granola bar or anything? I'm kind of hungry." Will said only for another guy to punch him in the face. Will pulled back and just looked at him unamused. "And for that punch, I'll break your neck."

"Well, well. Look who's awake." Cole Midas walked out with a stun stick in his hand. "Glad you liked the knock-out gas grenade. New military issue. Should leave you feeling groggy for a few more hours. And you like this?" He held up the stun stick. "Twice the normal voltage police uses. It could probably cook the eyeball right in your skull."

"Do you plan on doing that anytime soon or are you just going to talk me to death? The fact that I'm even still breathing means that you want to drag this out." Will said and Cole had his guy punch him again. "For that punch, I'll break your arm and then your neck."

"You've got a mouth on you. But there's no talking your way out of this. The only way this ends is with you dead." Cole told him causing Will to laugh.

"Wow, I heard you Southern Front Racist hicks were dumb, but you are a special type of dumb. It really is shocking to see in person. That says something about the current education system but seeing as how you and your friends are natural born idiots, that can be excused." Will joked.

"What did you just say?" Cole grabbed him by the shirt and held the stun stick to his face.

"I'm sorry, were those words too complicated for you?" Will joked. "How about this? You…are…an…idiot."

"I'm the idiot?" Cole scoffed and chuckled. "Who's the one who lured you into an ambush? Huh? Me, and now I have you right where I want you."

"Oh my god. You really are an idiot." Will laughed his butt off. "You actually think you got me in that ambush?"

Cole and his friends looked at him like he was crazy, and Will saw they didn't get it, so he decided to spell it out for them. "Oh my god, all right. It seems I'm gonna have to spell this out for you. You see you put out the greenlight on the wrong person Cole and unfortunately, it'll be the last mistake of your life. I'm not a civilian, ex-cop, veteran or whatever your mole in the police department told you." Will said as Cole was shocked, he knew that. "Oh yeah, I know about your mole in the police department and he's probably in jail as we speak. I took down all of your fronts and men but to get to you, I needed some help, so I radioed Captain Menendez and told her about the mole. Then I had her tell him to call you and give you a way to catch me. All he had to do was radio in a Southern Front call over at a place of your choosing and when I arrived, you just had to drop in a knock-out gas grenade and you'd have me. I'm right so far, aren't I?"

Cole hid it as best he could, but Will could see that he was right, and Cole was getting a little nervous. "You didn't ambush and capture me. I let you." Will told him. "I've dealt with horrible things and people that you couldn't even imagine in your worst nightmare that would cause you to run screaming to your daddy if you ever came across them. You and your little neo-Nazi white supremacist gang is like a kiddy zoo compared to the crap I've dealt with. And now, I have you right where I want you to end this. And that ends with me…putting a bullet through your skull."

"You're joking." Cole rebuffed his statement. "We have you surrounded and your handcuffed to that chair."

Will moved his hands forward to show they weren't handcuffed anymore. "Really?" Will asked. Cole freaked out so Will kicked him in the groin before ducking under a bullet and smashed the chair onto one of Cole's men. He grabbed one of the chair's broken legs and stabbed it in the leg of another gang member before snapping his neck. He grabbed another gang member and used him as a shield against a hail of bullets. Will took the dead gang members gun and killed the rest of the group with precise head shots. Will shot the gang member he smashed with the chair in the head before turning his attention to Cole who he saw crawling away. Will walked over and stopped him, kicking him onto his back so he could see the fear in Cole's face.

"Please, don't kill me." Cole told him, scared out of his mind.

"Why not? You've killed more and ruins thousands of lives. Seems like fitting ending to me." Will said, as he cocked the hammer back and aimed at his head. "Then again…"

Will lowered the gun and shot one bullet into each of Cole's legs causing him to scream in pain. "You don't deserve an easy ending. Besides, I have a feeling that a lot of people in prison will want their own personal time with you." Will said before dragging him to the police station. And in that one single day, Will dismantle a criminal organization.

The next morning at Ryker's island, Leonard _King_ Midas was casually and comfortably sitting in his cell. The leader of the Southern Front was happily unaware of what had transpired hours ago and sat in his cell with all the comforts of home when his cell door open and fours guard came in.

"Prisoner, up against the wall!" One of the guards shouted. The King looked at them odd glances and stood up when the guards began tearing down all his amenities like his Television, his posters, and his refrigerator.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing? Where's Officer Jones?" Midas asked.

"Jones is gone. And you have a visitor." The guard said. He grabbed Midas and pulled him out of his cell. Midas was escorted to the visiting area expecting to see his son or one of his lieutenants but instead saw someone he didn't recognize. Midas sat down in the chair and looked at his visitor who was smiling at him. He picked up the phone and his visitor did the same.

"Who the hell are you?" Midas asked and Will just smiled.

"I'm just a law abiding citizen who happens to work for a certain agency." Will told him. "You're probably wondering why the guard you pay off is not here and why they tore apart your prison suite. Well, I had something to do with that."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Midas asked.

"The Southern Front is done." Will told him. "Every single member of your gang is in jail or dead and all your fronts were taken by the police. Your mole in the department is on his way here after his trial and all your offshore accounts have been erased so you have no money to extort people with."

"You're lying." Midas told him.

"Call your lawyer if you want to confirm but it'll be a different one as your old one is currently being investigated by the SEC for the mysterious sums of money in his account." Will said with a smirk. He was enjoying this. "Your son is on his way to join you. Both of you are never getting out of here to terrorize people or ruin lives ever again. I'll make sure of that."

"Who are you?" Midas asked in anger while Will just gave him a playful smirk.

"Someone your son should never have put the greenlight on." Will told him before he hung up the phone and left. Midas shouted every single kind of obscenity at him that the guards had to restrain him with handcuffs and drag him away. Will walked out of the visitor area and shook hands with the warden. "Thank you for your cooperation, Warden. The Southern Front won't be causing you any more problems."

"Thank you, Agent Detmer." The Warden replied. Will left Ryker's island with a smile on his face as he had just taken down an entire criminal organization in twenty-four hours and made his city a little safer. He made a pit stop in the city for a pizza pie from Joe's before heading back home.

He arrived safely back at home with his pizza pie for dinner. He walked in and saw Goose lying down on the kitchen counter asleep. Guess he found a new place he likes to sleep. Will put the pizza down and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator when his home security system went off again and he heard a familiar whooshing sound outside. He opened the backyard door and saw Crystal and Lockjaw again.

"I'm guessing you have good news?" Will asked. Crystal walked up and kissed him and he kissed back. "Very good news?"

"Very good. Medusa was beyond angry at what I did as what Black Bolt…but they calmed down a bit after. I told them why I did it and how I was safe with you the entire time and that nothing bad happened." Crystal told him.

"I take it Medusa still wasn't that happy you came down here to see me." Will said and she nodded.

"That's an understatement but she won't be coming down to kill you, I can kind of promise you that." Crystal assured him.

"Great, I feel so much better." Will joked. "But if it means that you can come visit and we can give us a try, I'm ready for whatever Medusa sends my way."

"I managed to convince Black Bolt and Medusa that me coming down to Earth was a good thing. It would allow me to learn more about earth and humans and I could inform you on your Inhuman heritage." Crystal explained. "Primagen is a crucial part of our history and even though you chose to remain on Earth, Black Bolt thinks it's important that you understand your Inhuman history."

"And having an excuse to come down and see me is just a fringe benefit." Will joked and Crystal blushed a bit.

"I'm serious. The First Inhuman King was transformed with Primagen and ever since it has been a vital part of our history. We though the last of Primagen was used thousands of years ago until you showed up." Crystal told him. "Any other Inhuman would kill to be in your position."

"Maybe, but then again, not all Inhumans can relax here on Earth like you." Will joked. "Come on. I got dinner that you're gonna love and a week of vacation from SHIELD to spend with an amazing girl."

 **[Bark]** Lockjaw barked at him and wagged his tail.

"And Lockjaw." Will added. Crystal chuckled and kissed him as the three went inside for dinner. For a whole week, Will introduced Crystal to more of Earth and got her adjusted to how things worked. He got her an earth wardrobe, which included swimsuits that they used at the beach and he introduced her to Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey. The expression on their faces when he told them that she was like him was priceless, but he swore them to secrecy. He also introduced her to his cousin Kim and aunt and uncle.

All in all…it was a nice break.

Line Break xxxxx

Will had one more day of vacation to himself before he had to report back to duty with SHIELD and he was savoring every minute of it. Spending the last week with Crystal was amazing and it was nice to be in a relationship again. She left back to Attilan but since she gave him a communication band, they could talk all the time. He made long distance relationships work before…granted this long distance was very, very long but they would make it work. And the more time Crystal spent on earth, the more she could inform the others and hopefully help bridge the gap with the Inhumans of Attilan. Granted, Will wasn't expecting them to all immigrate here but the more they learned the easier things would get. It was a hope. Not to mention the earth food she could bring back was a bonus.

Will was sitting on the couch, watching some TV while he was doing some maintenance on the guns he kept at home. He had taken apart his HK pistol and was just about done cleaning it when the news came on with a breaking story. It was about a serial killer that had been racking up 50 bodies beginning a month ago all over New York City, New York State, Connecticut and Rhode Island. People were trapped in their homes and killed with one person from each of his killings being taken alive and has gone missing. There was no foreseeable pattern and he was all over the place with men, women, children, young, and old being killed. Whoever this killer was…he was pure evil. Will would have been more than happy to go after this guy but the past month he's been busy. Will raised the volume and the news report was of the killer's latest strike which was of over 100 people at some kind of warehouse/nightclub in Brooklyn.

 _"_ _With what little information we have at this moment it would appear that the predatorily serial killer who has been plaguing the New York, New England area has struck again but this latest attack is on a whole new level. Over 100 people have been confirmed killed in a warehouse that the killer has retrofitted with traps and deadly devices leaving the city in a state of terror and local law enforcement and the FBI on the hunt for the killer before he strikes again. One man did manage to escape the carnage. One Arkin O'Brien, a former criminal who himself was captured by the serial killer but managed to escape. With no possible leads or trail, people are left wondering how the police can catch this killer before he strikes again."_ The news reporter said before Will shut the TV off.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. I'm doing something." Will told himself. He put his pistol back together put on his hip holster. He grabbed a duffel bag from his closet before putting an assortment of guns and gadgets inside. He then took his dad's truck and drove to Brooklyn to the scene of the crime. He parked his truck on the street and got out to see a massive line of red tape around the entire block of the warehouse where the massacre took place with the police keeping everyone back while detectives and the FBI took lead on the case. Will walked forward, past the group of reporters, bystanders, and grieving family members, friends, and loved ones who wanted information on what happened. Will walked under the yellow tape when a police officer stopped him.

"Sir, I'm gonna need you to go back behind the tape." He informed him when Will took out his SHIELD badge.

"Agent Will Detmer of SHIELD. Take me to whoever's in charge." Will ordered. The officer took his badge for a moment and looked it over before nodding.

"Come with me." The officer escorted Will over to the command truck where the lead FBI agent was talking with his team. "Sir."

Will looked at the lead agent and his team. "Who is this?" the agent asked.

"He's with SHIELD." The officer replied and Will showed his badge.

"Agent William Alexander Detmer. Here to help." Will told him.

"Special Agent Tomas Gibson, FBI and senior supervisory in charge. This is my team." Agent Gibson pointed to his team and shook Will's hand. "You look a little young to be an agent."

"You're not the first person to tell me that. Pleasure to meet you, Agent Gibson. Want to fill me in?" He asked and Gibson nodded. They walked over to the warehouse but Gibson stopped at the door.

"Brace yourself. It's not for the faint of heart." He told him as they entered. He was right. The warehouse/nightclub was more of a slaughterhouse now with blood and gore decorating the ceiling, floors, and walls. CSI teams and coroners were going all over the place to find evidence and collect the dead…or what was left of them. Will covered his nose as the smell got to him. "Believe me, you wouldn't be the first one."

Will looked over at the side and saw some of the ME's vomiting into trashcans. "My people have seen a lot of things but not like this. What about you?" Gibson asked.

Will walked over and knelt by a pile of bodies. "I've seen some horrible things but this is a first." He looked up and noticed the large mowing blade was set up on the ceiling.

"That's how the killer took care of everyone here on the dance floor. Mowed them down like animals." One of the agents said.

"Who owns the building?" Will asked, moving over some bodies.

"Dummy corporation that's owned by a man who's been dead for 10 years. No possible trace." Another agent responded.

"Killer covered his tracks. He set this place up in advance." Will said, looking at the large mowing blade. "Reports said this was a nightclub?"

"Yeah, an underground one. It's been used before a few times according to a few CI's but this is the first time this has happened." An agent told him, reading the information from his notepad.

"Which means the killer planned this out. He wanted the reputation of this place to spread so more people would show up." Will said. "Any other traps set up in this place?"

"One of the corridors was set up with a steel cage and a hydraulic ceiling that came down on anyone who was trapped. And there was a hallway rigged with steel blades. We have our techs going through the rest of the place to make sure there aren't any more traps." The agents said. "We've gone over every single spot we could but there are dozens of prints so it'll take some time to narrow down the killers, but we did manage to get street camera footage of a white van leaving the area."

"He'll likely have dumped it but that might be our best lead." Will said when he remembered the news report. "There was report that someone managed to escape."

"Yeah, Arkin O'Brien, twice convicted thief was found by patrol officers. Dude was in bad shape so he was taken to Woodhull for emergency care. I don't want to even know what kind of things he's gone through." An agent said.

"He's alive. And he'll be the key to finding this guy." Will said, leaving to talk to Arkin O'Brien at the hospital.

He arrived at the hospital and the nurse at the reception desk told him which room he was in. He walked through the hallway and called his Uncle Stuart on the way to Arkin's room.

 _"_ _Hey, Will. How's it going?"_ He asked.

"I'm fine. Are Lenore and Kim there?" Will asked.

 _"_ _Yeah, they're watching TV. We're about to head out to dinner."_ He said.

"You're gonna need to take a rain check on that. I need you to do something for me and I want you to listen to everything I say exactly." Will told him.

 _"_ _Will, what's wrong?"_ Stuart asked.

"Brooklyn isn't safe at the moment. I want to you pack an overnight bag and head to my home in Atlantic City. The spare key is under the doormat. I want you, Lenore and Kim to stay there for a while." He told him.

 _"_ _Will, does this have anything to do with the serial killer that's been running rampant."_ Stuart asked.

"Yeah, I'm right on his tail but until I find him, Brooklyn isn't safe. Pack a bag and stay there. The security system is state of the art and I'll have a work colleague come over and look after you until I'm back." Will told him.

 _"_ _All right."_ Stuart said, knowing after Kim's European rescue that when Will suggested doing something you do it. " _How dangerous is this guy, Will?"_

"Very." Will said, taking a deep breath. "I've faced plenty of evil things in my life but this guy deserves his own personal spot in hell and I'm gonna send him there. Take Kim and Lenore. Don't tell anyone where you're going and go now. I'll call you on this number when it's over. Stay safe."

Will ended the call and continued his trek over to Arkin's room when he saw a man in a black and white suit talking on the phone. "He's going to lead us to where Elena's being held." Lucello said.

 _"_ _What about the police?"_ Mr. Peters asked over the phone.

"They had their chance. What this man deserves is beyond the law." Lucello said, looking at a photo of Elena.

 _"_ _She's all I have. Find her."_ Mr. Peters told him.

"Sir, I've always been good to you. You'll see her tonight." Lucello said but before he could hang up, Will walked in front of him with his badge.

"Interesting conversation, Lucello?" He asked and took the phone. "Mr. Peters."

 _"_ _Who is this? Where is Lucello?"_ Mr. Peters asked.

"Calm down, Mr. Peters, he's right here with me. My name is Will Detmer and I work with SHIELD. I'm currently tackling the serial killer case, the man who kidnapped your daughter." Will said as Lucello looked at him funny. "I personally know the hell a person goes through when someone they love is taken. I'll be accompanying your men on the mission to find her. It's officially my mission and it'll prevent your men from getting into legal trouble but I promise you that you will see your daughter again."

Will hung up the phone and handed it to Lucello. "Your mission is mine now. No complaining or weaseling me out." He told him, heading inside to talk to Arkin before they left.

Line Break xxxxx

Arkin's group of mercenaries plus Will Detmer and Arkin O'Brien were in a black van following Arkin's precise instructions to find Elena. They started from where Arkin was taken by the Collector and went from there. Arkin painted this guy as the boogeyman and from what Will saw at the nightclub massacre, he wasn't far off. Arkin had cut his arm to signify where he was going when he was first taken so it was leading them. Lucello had four other mercenaries with him. They had been driving for what seemed like two hours until they eventually stopped somewhere in the outskirts of Queens at the old Hotel Argento and from the shape of it, it had been abandoned for years. Perfect place for the killer, an old abandoned hotel was big enough for him and it was in an area where no one lingered.

"We're here." Arkin said as Lucello's mercenary stopped the van. Will got out and saw the old hotel and based on the high-tech security cameras set up around the perimeter, this was it. Lucello has them go down two blocks just to be safe.

Will took his stuff out of his duffle bag and got suited up, strapping on his belt and thigh holster while Lucello and his mercenaries got out and got ready. "This is the place." Arkin said, feeling a great sense of dread being in the place he's been tortured for so long again.

"You're the expert. Think you can get us in there?" Lucello asked, holding out some lock picks.

"I'll get you in them I'm out of here." Arkin said when Will grabbed the lock picks.

"He's not going in." Will said, dressed in his SHIELD tactical vest and carrying his KRISS Vector submachine gun with his modified Remington 879 MSC Masterkey-12 gauge compact shotgun holstered over his right shoulder for easy access. "He's too much of a liability if he's in there but he will be our eyes and ears."

He handed Arkin an earpiece and set up a laptop inside the van that received a specialized encrypted camera feed. Will took out a pair of high-tech glasses and turned them on so the camera feed went to the laptop. "You'll be my eyes and ears inside. You'll stay inside the van and give me valuable intel to find her." Will told him and Arkin was a little apprehensive about lingering around. "You'll be fine here. Help us find her and you get your freedom and the pardon."

"All right." Arkin got in the van and took the laptop.

"Arkin." Will took out a spare Glock 17 and handed it to him. "If he comes after you, shoot for the head." Arkin nodded, taking the gun and was ready to use it if the Collector came for him. "Let's move."

Will took point and moved towards the hotel while the mercenaries gave Lucello an odd look before he motioned them to follow. They moved towards the old employee entrance but Will stopped them, motioning to the door frame where a small hidden camera was placed. He pressed a few buttons on his touchpad computer and released a high-frequency disruption signal that interfered with cameras and Lucello's radios, rendering them useless.

"What was that?" Paz asked.

"Disruption frequency. He has this whole placed lined with cameras, now he can't see anything." Will told them.

"Yeah, and we can't hear anything." Dre told him, throwing away his earpiece. Will took out earpieces for all of them to use.

"There. Happy?" Will asked, kneeling down to unlock the door. He took out a lock pick and opened the door in a few seconds. "Arkin, do you read me?"

 _"_ _Yeah, I read you."_ Arkin replied.

"We're heading in now. Keep watch over the feed and let us know where to go." He said.

" _All right. Watch your backs in there. It's a fucking maze with traps everywhere."_ Arkin said.

"Roger that." Will moved in first, followed by Paz, Dre, and Wally.

Lucello stopped his man Lin by the door. "Guard the door, stay on the radio." Lucello told him, moving inside the hotel with the others.

Will moved them inside the old hotel through what looked like an old service entrance for employees. Will activated the flashlight and laser sight on his submachine gun so they had some light. The hallway was narrow so they took it slow and kept an eye out for any traps along the way. Will turned a corner to see a whole bunch of bug zappers strung up along the ceiling for the insects and the sound of chains rattling.

"There's something moving in there." Paz said as everyone had their weapons aimed in front. Will slung his rifle over his shoulder and took out his compact shotgun. He moved forward and down the hallway to see more bug zappers set up and used needles on the ground. He kept moving and saw more needles on the ground along with a sign that said _Beware of Dogs_ and a whole bunch of metal cages.

 _"_ _AH!"_ They heard over the comms.

"Lin?" Lucello called him over the comms but got no answer.

"Arkin, keep an eye out." Will told him.

"RAH!" Something bashed against the steel cage next to Will causing him to jump back in shock. Something then tried to blindside him from behind but her turned and fired his shotgun at the chest of whatever was trying to attacking him, sending it splat onto the ground dead.

"What the fuck was that?" Dre asked as Will and Paz knelt down to see what attacked them and it was a person. Will took off the porcelain mask to reveal his attacker was male, maybe around mid-20s with bloodshot eyes and a bloody mouth. He was dressed in rags and looked more like a feral animal.

"His tongue's been chewed off. His pupils are completely blown out." Paz said, looking him over. "This guy's been cooked out of his mind."

 _"_ _That's what he does with some of them. He messes with them, jacks them up. They don't do what he says, he turns them into his dogs."_ Arkin told Will, seeing everything over the camera feed.

"He's like a Zombie." Wally said.

"He's not a zombie." Will said, holding up one of the empty syringes on the floor. "You put enough drugs inside anyone and you turn them into an animal. I doubt there's any treatment that can help someone come back from this."

"Holy shit." Dre said, seeing a pool of blood and shining a light on a massive pile of dead bodies at the far end of the room.

"What is this place?" Paz asked. Will heard some movement above them and quickly fired his shotgun, missing the Collector by a few inches and causing him to run away.

"What the hell was that?" Dre asked as Will put his shotgun away and readied his submachine gun.

"He was watching us." Will said, hearing more chain rattling before turning and firing a bullet into the head of another one of the mad dog people, killing it instantly.

The group heard more chains rattling and shrieking and knew they were gonna have company. "Oh shit." Lucello said and soon more of those rabid people charged at them, forcing the group to shoot them. Will fired his entire magazine, killing about six of them when he needed to reload so Dre covered him with his AR-15 assault rifle. Will reloaded with another mag when another rabid person tried to attack him so he shot her dead with a headshot from his pistol.

"Arkin, we need a way out!" Will shouted over the comms. Arkin looked over the feed and saw a set of double doors.

 _"_ _Through the double doors! Go!"_ Arkin shouted. Will turned and saw the double doors.

"Let's go! Move!" Will shouting, covering the group with suppressive fire so they could make for the door. Will and Lucello covered the others, killing more of the rabid people before making it through the doors and locking it shut.

"WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT WAS THAT?!" Wally shouted before looking at Will. "You! You led us right into that!"

"Calm down, that's enough!" Lucello stopped him while Will just reloaded his gun.

"I've got no signal. We're being jammed." Dre said, holding up his cellphone. "All right, the police will be all over this place in seconds."

"We're in a concrete tomb 10 feet underground in a part of the city even the rats won't shit on. Nobody's gonna hear us because there's no one around to listen." Lucello told him.

Will pressed a few buttons on his wrist computer, dialing in to the FBI. "Special Agent Gibson, this is Agent Detmer. I need a barricade and perimeter set up around the abandoned Hotel Argento in Queens set up 5 blocks away, stretching out 10 miles in all directions. I've found the killers hiding spot but be advised, the suspect has the place under heavy surveillance. Minimize movement and zero police radio chatter, I repeat, zero police radio chatter. Suspect might have police radio." Will reported.

 _"_ _Roger that."_ Gibson replied.

"What the hell was that?" Lucello asked.

"Covering our ass. He has this whole place rigged up to keep people from getting out but if he feels that we're too close to him then he'll try to escape. That perimeter is going to keep him from leaving and we'll have backup if we need it." Will told him. "Now, let's move."

Will took point up the stairs to the second floor and began moving through the corridors of the old rooms. They kept moving when they saw three large cases that were empty but covered in blood. Lucello noticed some bloody footprints on the ground that seemed to be heading in the same direction they were.

"Check out the spacing." Lucello said, noting the foot prints pattern that suggests they weren't like the rabid people downstairs. They heard movement and set their guns on a person who appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Freeze! Don't move!" Will shouted, shining his flashlight on the person to see it was a male, maybe around mid-20s only in his underwear and looked like he had been tortured.

"Please…please, help me." He begged.

"Stay back!" Paz shouted.

"What the fuck is that?!" Wally shouted when Will noticed the scars around the person's neck and chest like he had been dissected.

"Please…please, help me." He begged them again, tears coming down his eyes as he slowly made his way towards them. As he got closer, Will's danger sense went off so he stopped moving.

"Hold!" Will told them and they stopped moving.

"Stay back or we will shoot!" Lucello warned him.

"I didn't make it. This…I didn't make it." The man collapsed onto his knees and began crying when Will noticed the blood around his neck was fresh.

"What didn't you make?" Lucello asked.

"The collection." He said, looking at them no longer crying. "And neither will you!"

Will and Lucello heard a rapid beeping sound that got louder and knew it was a bomb. "GET DOWN!" Will shouted as the bomb went off, killing the man it was attached to in a shower of blood, hitting Paz, Dre and Wally.

Will looked up and saw three spikes open up on the ceiling above Wally so he quickly pushed kicked him into the wall just in time to avoid being impaled.

"Jesus!" Wally saw the spikes come down where he was standing and nearly kill him but he was lucky enough to live because the Agent saved his life. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Will replied, helping Wally back onto his feet. "Arkin, where should we go from here?"

 _"_ _Don't go down that hallway. It likely has more traps and he'll be expecting that."_ Arkin said. _"Move back to the entrance way."_ Will did so Arkin could see everything and saw a narrower passageway to the right. " _Take that passageway to the right."_

"This way." Will said, moving forward and they followed him. They moved down the narrow hall but stopped when they came to a very narrow alcove that had nails protruding from the walls. "Take it slow."

Will moved first, moving slowly and watching his step so he didn't accidently trip a trap or hit something and the others followed him. He saw some tarps set up at the end of a hallway and saw flickering lights so he slowly walked forward and ripped the tarp down to reveal some kind of entomology office. There were plaques, pictures and display boards set up with bugs and a bunch of other different insects. The flickering lights were beginning to get annoying so Will hit the light switch off and popped a flare so they could see.

"What the fuck is this place?" Lucello asked, seeing the office set up.

"Probably an idea of who this guy is." Will said. He reached into one of his pouches to reveal and small circular device. He attached it to the wall and pressed a few buttons, locking it into position and emitting a small hum. "Explosive charge. Just in case."

"All right. Let's keep moving." Lucello said. They moved from the office to one of the hallways of the hotel and they began checking the doors but they were all locked. Paz walked forward and nearly turned the corner when Will pulled her back and stopped her. He motioned her to be quiet and pointed down so she could see the trip wire and then pointed up to show a row of hooks on a lever.

"Thanks." She said and he nodded back. He stepped over the wires and the others did the same. Will turned the corner and saw one door at the far end with a red doorknob. It was locked so he quickly unlocked and they stepped in to see what looked like an entomologist lab out of hell. There were display cases of bugs like cicadae and beetles, but then there were jars of frogs and dissected animals and then things just got horrifying. They saw massive display tubes with human skeletons and body parts, like they were trophies. The skeletons were stitched and put together like bugs and same with the body parts.

"Jesus Christ." Lucello said as Paz nearly threw up in disgust.

"There is true evil in the world…and this is one of them." Will said, taking out five more explosive charges and handed them to Lucello and the others. "Place them all around the room. I'm not letting this sick fuck's trophies see the light of day."

"Amen to that." Dre said as each of them placed a charge around the room. Wally placed one along the right side when he heard whimpering. He took his shotgun and slowly moved forward to see a woman pinned to the wall with large nails. She looked at him and gasped in shock.

"Please, help me." She said.

"Guys!" Wally shouted and they rushed over to see the woman on the wall.

"Please, please help me." She begged as Will rushed over.

"It's ok, we're gonna get you down. Paz, do you have any kind of morphine?" Will asked. Paz opened her bag and took out a syringe of morphine and handed it to him. He took off the needle cover and held it to her arm. "It's ok. This is for pain."

She nodded and he inserted the needle into her arm and gave her the morphine. "What's your name?" Will asked.

"Elizabeth." She said.

"Elizabeth, my name is Will and we're gonna get you out of here, ok? Don't worry." Will assured her and she managed a smile. Lucello was less optimistic once he saw the nails in her legs that would impede her from walking.

"She'll never make it." Lucello told him.

"We're not leaving her so either help me or shut up." Will told him. "Ok, Elizabeth. I'm gonna take out the nails, now."

He grabbed one of the nails that impaled her legs and pulled, causing her to scream. "AAGHHHH!" She screamed in pain so Will stopped. He grabbed a clean rag from a table and put it in her mouth.

"Here. Bite down on this." He told her and she nodded. He grabbed the nail and pulled it out quickly, causing her scream into the rag. He pulled out the other one in her leg and then the ones in her arms and hands. Dre helped Will put her down on the ground so Paz could wrap up her wounds.

"We need to keep moving. She'll just slow her down." Lucello told Will.

"We're not leaving her behind. She's someone we can save. If it was Elena like this, then you'd do the same." Will told him. "Paz, patch her up as best you can."

"Right." Paz took out another roll of bandages and wrapped up her legs as best she could and comforting Elizabeth. Will heard some footsteps by the door, too heavy to be Elena so it had to be the Collector. He motioned Lucello, Dre, and Wally towards the door and told them to be quiet. They aimed their guns at the door while Will took out his shotgun and slowly moved forward, doing his best to not make a sound. He made it to the door and nodded to Lucello who nodded back. Will counted down from three and then flung open the door to reveal there was nothing there but heard footsteps rushing away.

"We need to move." Lucello told him and Will nodded.

"How is she?" Will asked.

"I patched her up as best I can." Paz told him.

"All right, I'll take her." He told her, handing Paz his gun. She took it while he bent down and put Elizabeth on his back, carrying her. Now while this would be cumbersome to anyone else, Will's super soldier strength made it so it was nothing. "Elizabeth, we're looking for someone. She was taken by the Collector. Do you know where she might be?"

"He takes new people to the third floor…it's where I was." She told him and he nodded.

"Let's go." Will said. Lucello took point and moved down the hallway and the rest followed. The morphine soon kicked in which was helping Elizabeth with her wounds but she would need to get to the hospital soon.

They made it some kind of open foyer like you would see at a gallery but there were three different hallways to take and they didn't know which one to take. "Where do we go?" Lucello asked when something rushed behind them so they set their guns on it to reveal it was another woman dressed like a child. She didn't have any physical cuts or torture marks but her facial expressions showed she had been here a while. "Don't move."

"Please, don't shoot me." She begged them, holding her hands up. "Are you looking for the new girl?"

Will and Lucello shared a brief look. "Where is she?" He asked.

"I know where she is but you've got to get me out of here." She told them. Lucello nodded and she led them down the left hallway. She took them up a set of stairs and then pointed them down another hallway. "That way."

"Are you sure?" Lucello asked and she nodded. They followed her directions down a hallway to see more doors. They began trying everyone but most of them were locked until they got to the last one. Dre slowly opened up and walked into the room with his rifle ready only to see Elena.

"In here!" Dre told him as Lucello walked in.

"Lucello?" Elena couldn't believe it was him and he smiled. "Oh god."

She hugged him and cried tears of joy. "Oh my god." Lucello breathed a huge sigh of relief as he hugged her. "It's ok. We're gonna get you out of here, ok? It's ok, I'm here."

The rest of the group walked in and once Elena saw the girl that was helping them, she began to freak out. "No. No, don't trust her. No, she's crazy."

"Elena, it's ok. Look at me." Lucello told her. "You're safe. You're safe."

"We need to go, now." Will told him.

"Yeah." Lucello replied.

"We barely made it up here. We'll never make it back down stairs to the exit." Dre told them.

"He's right. He could have more traps set up for us and more of those things." Paz said.

"Wally, take her." Will said as Wally took Elizabeth while he moved over to the old air conditioning unit to see outside the hotel. "I got an idea, Paz, you have any rope in that bag?"

Paz opened her bag and took out a bundle of rope. "Yeah." She replied.

"All right, that's should be enough." Will took out another explosive charge and placed it on the wall. "We take out the wall and you guys go down on the rope. Use the radio in the van and contact the FBI to move in."

They all heard a lock click and saw the woman had locked them in the room. "What the fuck did you just do?" Lucello asked and they saw the crazy look she had in her eye.

"He likes me you know." She said.

"Oh god, I told you." Elena said as the woman began to giggle like a maniac.

"THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE!" She shouted into the camera in the ceiling, not knowing it was being jammed because of Will's disruption signal but her yelling would get his attention. "YOU'RE ALL GONNA DIE!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Paz punched her in the face and knocked her into a trap. She stepped onto a spike which then activated a large metal spiked coffin that wrapped around her, impaling her to death.

The light in the room then went out followed by animal growling. "Oh, man that's not good." Dre said and the door on the far side of the room opened up to reveal dogs. They charged at the group but Will quickly shot them dead with precise headshots.

"All right, everyone get back." Will told them and they moved to the far wall. He pressed the detonator and the charge blew up part of the wall, making a hole large enough for them to get out. He took the rope and tied it off to a sturdy pipe in the ceiling. "All right, go now! That will have attracted his attention."

Dre went first down the rope and made it to the ground. Wally and Elizabeth went down second while Will broke the lock off the door. "What are you doing?" Elena asked.

"I'm finding this son of a bitch and killing him." He said, tossing the detonator to the other bombs to Lucello. "If I don't make it out in 20 minutes, blow the building."

Will went down the hallway and with the others finally gone, he could use his powers. He closed his eyes and stretched out his telekinetic sense and detected one person two floors down in the entomology lab they found Elizabeth in. He walked down the hallway, setting off a dozen of traps like falling spikes, bear traps, and dropping hooks but they all shattered against his force field. He made it down the stairs and to the lab, having set off probably 20 traps by himself and kicked the door to the Entomology lab off its hinges. He walked in and didn't see anyone around when his danger sense went off and rolled forward to avoid two knives to the back from the Collector. He spun to his feet and kicked the Collector in the face, knocking him on his back.

The Collector got back to his feet as he and Will had a stare off, circling around each other like predators waiting for the other to make the wrong move. "Not so easy when the person isn't stuffed into a crate or tied down." Will told him, taking off his vest and throwing away his gun. "Let's see how you do in a real fight."

The Collector spun the knives in his hands and lunged forward but Will sidestepped him. The Collector swiped and tried to stab him but either blocked or evaded him, he was just too fast. He tried to stab him with his left knife only for Will to grab his arm and knocked the knife out of his hand. He kicked it away and tossed him over his hip before punching him across the face. The Collector swiped with his knife so Will backed up and kicked the Collector in the face again, knocking him to the ground. The Collector crawled away and slammed his fist into a tile, causing it to sink into the floor and setting off a trap. The ceiling above Will opened up to reveal a massive metal spike that dropped down but he back flipped out of the way and quickly raised his hand to stop the Collector from stabbing him in the neck. The Collector used both hands and tried to force the knife forward but his strength was nothing compared to Will's.

Will pushed back and overpowered the Collector, inching the blade away from his neck and towards him. The Collector struggled to push back and gave it all he had but he was out of his league. Will smirked at the killer and shoved the knife into his left collar bone, causing him shout and grunt in pain. Will then head butted him in the face and broke his nose before grabbing his arm and breaking it at the elbow. Will did a leg sweep and knocked the Collector onto his back before throwing out a harsh kick and breaking his left knee cap. Will grabbed the discarded knife off the ground and stabbed the Collector's right hand, pinning it to the floor. He pulled out the knife from the Collector's collar bone and stabbed it into his left hand, pinning him to the floor. Will yanked off the Collector's mask to reveal a seemingly normal looking white male, just like all serial killers.

"So you're the man who has ruined all these lives." Will said.

"They served their purpose." The Collector told him, and once Will looked into his eyes, all he saw was madness and insanity…the eyes of evil.

"And now they'll get their justice." Will told him, walking over to get his grabbed his vest and holster.

"Go ahead, arrest me. Do it. My legacy will live on. My reign of terror will be etched into the memory of everyone for years. My deeds will be pondered on and everyone will fear me. Lock me in a cell and throw away the key, but that won't stop me." The Collector told him.

"Who said anything about throwing you in jail?" Will asked. He took out his final explosive charge and placed it on the ground next to him. "No one will ever find you or see what you've done."

Will walked to the exit and could hear the Collector struggling to get free, yelling every kind of obscenity and shouting in pain as he tried to rip himself free from the ground. Will walked to the end of the hall and pressed the override detonation button on his wrist computer and completely destroyed the entire floor. The explosion sent out a shockwave outside the hotel that made the FBI, the police, and Lucello and the others hit the floor.

They watched in horror at the explosion and the fire that began to spread over the hotel. Elena looked at Lucello who had the detonator in his hand. "I didn't press it." He told her.

"Look!" Special Agent Gibson shouted and everyone looked at the entrance to see Will walked out of the hotel completely fine. Police and News helicopters shined down on him as he walked out and FBI teams and fire department went inside to control the fire and secure the area. Will over to the group and dropped the Collector's mask onto the ground.

"He won't be hurting anyone anymore." Will told them and they all breathed a sigh of relief. Elena rushed over and hugged him and he hugged back.

"Thank you." She said and he smiled.

"Thank you, Agent Detmer." Lucello said, shaking his hand. "We wouldn't have been able to find her without you. If there is anything we can ever do for you, just let us know."

"I'll keep that in mind." Will replied. He walked over to the paramedics who were looking over Elizabeth and put her in the back of the ambulance. "Don't worry, Elizabeth. It's over."

"Thank you." She said before the paramedics put her away and drove to the hospital. Will sat down on the curb and took a breather, watching the FBI and fire department do their job and carefully do what they could with the situation. He saw Mr. Peters arrive in a black sedan and Elena rushed over to her father. He looked over at Will and smiled and Will nodded back. All the aliens and Avenging aside…this is what's important, stopping evil people.

Will heard his phone go off and saw it was Hill. "Agent Detmer." Will answered.

" _Well, I see that your vacation hasn't gone on exactly like you wanted it to."_ She said as Will looked around.

"It wasn't all that bad." He told her. "But there were some evil people that needed to be stopped."

 _"Well, are you ready to get back to work or do you want another week off? I figured I owe you that much."_ Hill said. Will took a breath before looking back at the burning hotel. Vacation time was over, time to get back to work.

"Agent Will Detmer, reporting for duty." Will told her and he could tell that she was smiling.

 _"Good, because I got something in your area and it screams odd. Burning victim and killing at a meat packing factory in the Bronx."_ Hill told him, which confused him.

"I'm on my way." Will said, grabbed his duffle bag and leaving. Vacation time was over, the world needed saving.

 **End of Chapter 6**

 **I hoped you guys liked the chapter. It was just a little filler to show what Will was doing during his vacation. Even a vacation isn't very relaxing for him. But he's gotten some worked done and is ready to get back to work. We're close to the Agents of SHIELD arc but it's still a little whiles away since it comes after Iron Man 3. According to the MCU timeline, the agents of shield arc doesn't start until around September of 2013 but I'll start it earlier so they'll undertake more missions. Also, we have Goose in the house. Will finally met Goose and he's looking after him for the time being.**

 **For those that didn't recognize the latter part of the chapter, it was the movie the Collection, a horror film and I got the idea to use horror films for mission for Will from War Sage who has been a big help in giving me ideas for my stories so, THANK YOU WAR SAGE. There will be other horror films inspired missions so if any of you have any ideas, leave it in a review or send me a message.**

 **Next chapter, Will's next mission sends him into the path of an entire evil world he had no idea existed. It has been secretly hidden in society for thousands of years and he gets tossed in the middle but makes a new ally with the Daywalker. Until next time!**

 **William Alexander Detmer/Birthname: William Alexander Danvers**

 **Moniker=** Aegis _(means something under protection from a benevolent source/Shield of Zeus and Athena)_

 **SHIELD Status:** Level 7 Agent / Special Operations, Tactics and Defense Specialist (SOTD) Serial number: NE616IN

 **Member of the Avengers**

 **Appearance:** Stephen Amell from Arrow, Season 1 build **.**

 **Aegis Combat gear:** Earth X's Dark Arrow Vibranium jacket and pants with retractable full-face mask colored Black and Blue. Eye covers in mask are colored blue as well. Shoulder strap pellet holders. Combat gloves and forearm guards with weapons and equipment.

 **SHIELD gear:** Combat boots, black combat pants, with form fitting dark blue long sleeve athletic shirt. Shoulder strap pellet holders. SHIELD Tactical combat vest. Combat gloves and forearm guards with weapons and equipment.

 **Casual Outfit:** dark blue or black sneakers, jeans, blue or black t-shirt and either a zip-up hoodie, jacket, or button up over.

 **Weapons:**

 **Signature Guns:**

Modified Heckler & Koch P30L handgun with custom grip and compensator. Spare firearm Glock 17.

Modified Knight's Armament SR-25 Sniper rifle with modified scope, bipod, and suppressor.

Modified M249 Mk46 Light Machine gun with a modified barrel, magazine insertion well. Equipped with adjustable buttstock, 100-round magazine drum, deployable bipod, red dot sight, flashlight, and laser sight attachment.

Modified TDI/KRISS Vector-.45 ACP with modified barrel, stock, grip, extended magazine, red-dot sight, flashlight, laser sight, and silencer attachment.

Modified Remington 879 MSC Masterkey-12 gauge compact shotgun.

 **Others:**

Right forearm guard wrist mounted retractable Vibranium/alloy blades.

Left forearm guard wrist mounted small retractable Vibranium Shield & touchpad computer.

10 dark blue flechettes/throwing arrows wrapped around his ankles.

2 Vibranium orbs that Will is able to manipulate.

Natural Language Modified Artificial Intelligence program EDI.

Predator Combi stick/spear

2 Predator Shuriken

4 Laser net devices

Predator knife

 **Born:** September 8th, 1988-Currently 23

 **Notable talents:** Genius level intellect potential, self-defense military training from Harold Detmer, knowledge, and training in 15 types of martial arts, gun knowledge and expert marksman trained by Clint Barton, espionage and spy skills trained by Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD tactics and medical training from Coulson and SHIELD trainers, well-crafted knowledge and understanding of psychology, knowledge, and experience with engineering both mechanical and electrical.

 **Personality:** Kind, caring, composed, attentive, intelligent, and driven. Can be a bit of a smartass.

When insulted, angered, or in a serious situation, focused and relentless. Considered dangerous and unforgiving in these types of situations.

Uses powers sparingly in the field unless absolutely needs to.

 **Pairing:** Will x Skye/Daisy Johnson x Crystal

 **Powers: (If in bold, capable of doing now)**

 **Rakyat Tatau:** _Mystical tattoo that enhances speed, strength, stamina, intelligence, instincts, healing speed ad metabolic function to absolute human peak potential. (Captain America Level Super Soldier)_

 **Telekinesis, the ability to impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other non-physical means**

 **Power Level=** Advanced: level 4 out of 5

 **Binding-** _to keep an object/being from moving_

 **Levitation-** _to lift an object_

 **Orbital Field-** _to makes objects and energy orbit around user_

 **Telekinetic Shield** - _to create a shield of telekinetic energy around user or others/strength of shield depends on mental strength and focus of user_

 **Psionic Speed-** _to augment user's physical speed_

 **Psionic Strength-** _to augment user's physical strength_

 **Telekinetic Bullet Projection** - _projecting telekinetic energy as bullets_

 **Telekinetic Choking** - _to strangle someone with telekinesis_

 **Telekinetic Grip-** _To grasp an object firmly in place_

 **Telekinetic Maneuver-** _to alter an object's directional course_

 **Telekinetic Pull & Push-** _to pull or push objects away from user_

 **Molecular Manipulation** - _to manipulate matter at molecular level. Can accelerate, slow down and adjust spacing of molecules. (_ _ **limited in use.**_ _ie. manipulating Vibranium orbs and reshaping them)_

 **Telekinetic Aura/Sense** - _To sense one's surroundings with telekinesis_

 **Telekinetic Compression-** _to crush or compact an object_

 **Telekinetic Blast-** _to emit telekinetic energy as a blast of blue energy_

 **Telekinetic Destruction** - _to make an object explode into dust_

 **Telekinetic Flight** - _using telekinesis to fly_

 **Psionic Explosion** - _to create/discharge psychic energy across a wide range_

 **Telepathy, mentally receive or transmit information**

 **Power Level=** Advanced: level 4 out of 5

 **Mind Reading** - _ability to read the thoughts of others_

 **Memory Reading** _-the ability to read the target's memories_

 **Psychic Communication** - _the ability to secretly converse with others_

 **Telepathic Speaking** - _to speak aloud using the mind_

 **Telepathic Projection-** _to project images or memories into the physical plane_

 **Download** _-the ability to process/download information of another person (If used in a violent or angry mood, can harm the victim)_

 **Knowledge Replication** - _the ability to replicate learned knowledge and skills_

 **Knowledge Projection** - _the ability to project knowledge to another_

 **Rapid brain activity** - _the ability to process and understand information at incredible rates_

 **Mental Inducement** - _The ability to put the targets mind into the wanted state_

 **Mental Hallucination** - _the ability to cause mental hallucinations_

 **Mind Link** - _the ability to develop a permanent mental bond with any person_

 **Mind Walking/Melding** - _to enter another's consciousness_

 **Precognition awareness-** _six sense awareness of imminent danger_

 **Telepathic Prediction** - _the ability to know a person's moves by reading their brain waves_

 **Astral Projection** - _to separate one's mind from their body and explore physical plane (Cannot use telekinesis in this state. If separated from body too long, very dangerous.)_

 **Telepathic Surgery** - _the ability to perform neuropsychic surgery, healing and/or damaging the mind_

 **Memory/Mental Manipulation** - _the ability to manipulate a target's memories and mind_

 **Clairvoyance** - _the ability to gain direct visual information through non-physical means (Triggered only by serious events)_

 **Foresight** - _the ability to foresee possible future events and observe what may happen (Needs certain triggers to activate)_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHIELD or any Marvel Properties, they belong to their respective owners, I'm just a fan.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here is Chapter 7 of the Perfect One. Will investigates an odd situation at an old meatpacking factory that turns into something much stranger. He learns of an old, evil enemy that has been hidden from plain sight for years. SHIELD thought they were gone but they're back and Will gets thrown into the middle of this ancient war but gains a new ally in the Daywalker. Enjoy!**

 **The Perfect One: Hominus Nocturna**

 **May 2012: Bronx, New York City**

It was a regular night in the Bronx as a beautiful red-headed woman led a blissfully unaware man into a secret nightclub residing within a meat-packing warehouse. Once they were inside the nightclub, it was standard techno/dance music, flickering lights, and drugs. There were maybe about a hundred people there and at first, there didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary until sprinklers began raining down blood, soaking everyone in the party. Dennis, the unaware man who thought this was a regular club began to freak out while everyone else was having the time of their lives. He pushed through the crowd to get out when he saw his date walk up to him.

"What's wrong, baby?" She asked, before snarling at him and showing the elongated fangs of a vampire. He shouted in fear and frantically tried to make it to an exit and saw everyone else was like her and began looking at him like he was food. He rushed past them only to get punched in the face and hit the ground hard. He crawled away, getting kicked in the side and finally made it to the exit to see someone in his path. The music and blood shower stopped as he looked up and saw a black man wearing a black trench coated outfitted with a Kevlar vest, sunglasses and was wielding a shotgun. **(1)**

"Is that him? Jesus that's him. It's Blade. It's the Daywalker." All the vampires slowly backed away and snarled at him, doing their best to act strong but they were outmatched. Blade smirked and slowly walked forward, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"Come on, Daywalker!" One brave vampire rushed him only to get a shotgun blast to the chest and burn away into ash. Shit hit the fan after that, and several vampires made a run for the other exits while Blade killed the other vampires with shotgun blasts. One female vampire grabbed meat hooks and charged at him only to get a shotgun blast to the face. Blade gun butted a vampire behind him and stomped his right boot onto the ground, revealing a silver blade that extended from his heel and stabbed a vampire in the gut from behind before shooting another vampire in the face. He shot one of the vampire guards dead when the female vampire who led the human to the slaughter stepped forward.

"Hey! I'm gonna rip your fucking head off!" She shouted only for Blade to spin kick her in the face and fire another shotgun blast, killing another guard. He turned his gun at the woman only to hear an empty click, so he quickly hit her in the stomach causing her to double over. Blade loaded one spare cartridge into his shotgun and blew her head off. He spun his shot gun and threw it low to the ground, tripping a vampire and sent his gun skidding towards the far showers. A vampire grabbed him from behind only for Blade to punch him in the face, the throat, break his wrist and throw him to the ground. He grabbed a silver stake from his thigh holster and stabbed the vampire in the heart, reducing him to a pile of ash and bones.

Another vampire tried to rush him, but Blade kicked out his legs and then stomach, knocking him to the ground before taking out another silver stake and impaling it up through the jaw and head of another vampire. He spun and punched another vampire in the face before taking a silver stake and stabbing it in the heart before kicking its head into the light, giving it a shock before it burned away as well. Several of the vampire guards and a vampire girl fired at Blade but their bullets hit his armor. He quickly ducked and fired his modified Mac-10 submachine gun at them, killing the guards and the vampire girl. He loaded another clip into his gun and killed the DJ vampire. He saw more guards and their boss Quinn arrive so he holstered his gun.

"That's him! That's him! Get him! Fuck him up! We're gonna jack you up. Make him hurt bad! Whoo!" Quinn boasted while Blade unsheathed his sword and the guards armed themselves with meat hooks or knives.

The first guard charged at him only for Blade to slice him upward across the belly and he sliced the second one horizontally, reducing both to ash. He flipped into the shower area and blocked a meat hook from one of the guards before stabbing him in the face and then impaled another in the gut. He sliced one across the neck before kicking another in the face and stabbing a vampire behind him. He sliced and diced the others with ease before impaling one more in the gut. He jumped up and hugged the wall before pulling out his serrated boomerang glaive. He smirked at Quinn and threw it around the room. It returned to his hand with blood on the blade from three vampires it slashed in the throat.

Quinn jumped towards Blade only for Blade to do the same and kick him in the back of the head. Blade sheathed his sword and grabbed his shotgun off the floor and holding it right at Quinn's chest, firing the stake launcher attachment and pinning him to the wall by his right shoulder. Blade fired the other stake and impaled his left shoulder before smirking in delight. Quinn began screaming and mumbling in some kind of Slavic ancient vampire language as Blade walked up to him and the human Dennis watched in fear from the corner.

"Quinn…I'm getting a little tired of chopping you up." Blade said, taking out and arming a kerosene thermal bomb. "Thought I might try fire for a change. Give my regards to Frost."

He lit Quinn on fire and turned to leave when Dennis ran past him. Blade grabbed him and checked his neck for any bite marks as Dennis begged for his life. Once he saw the human was clean, he quickly left just as the police and fire department arrived.

20 minutes later, Will arrived on the scene still dressed in his regular clothes but with his pistol holstered around his right hip. His tactical SHIELD Gear was in the car and he was only going to get changed if he needed it and judging by the area it seemed like he would because it confused the hell out of him. One of the detectives saw him and walked over. "You're the specialist?" He asked as Will took out his SHIELD badge. "Right, follow me. I know the whole governmental policy is a bit of a change up for us but if it means you guys deals with all the weird then I'm all for it. Besides, this is a doozy even for me."

"Jesus Christ." Will looked around and was confused at what he saw. He saw blood all over the place, dozens of bullets casings of various calibers, bullet holes in the walls, broken light fixtures but then it got weird with silver metal stakes and charred bones and ashes. The odd part was that there were no other bodies around. With the blood and bullet casings all over the place you'd think you see dozens of bodies but none and the bones looked they had been charred over.

Will grabbed a cotton swab from the CSU team and dabbed the blood so he could get a closer look and smell. "Blood came back as animal, most likely cow." One of the detectives told him. "We responded to shots fired but when my guys showed up all they saw was some poor sap in the showers and one of the victims stapled to the wall. He was still burning when the fire department put him out."

"Did the victim say anything?" Will asked.

"He was pretty shaken up when we got here. He wasn't making a lot of sense and said something about fangs. The paramedic is looking for answers, but I don't know how helpful he's gonna be." The detective said. Will took out his phone and dialed in to a SHIELD communication hub.

"This is Agent Detmer, Serial number November-Echo-Six-One-Six-India-November requesting SHIELD containment crew at my location. Possible situation." Will reported in.

 _"_ _Roger that, Agent Detmer. ETA, 5 minutes."_ The SHIELD operator replied.

Will walked over to see the witness being looked after by the paramedics. His face had been cleaned up, but his clothes were still soaked in blood and looked like he had just been through a war zone. "Dennis…" Will said and Dennis looked up at him. "I'm Agent Detmer with SHIELD. I'm here to figure out what happened so can you tell me what you know? I promise you that you'll get the best protection and treatment SHIELD can get you."

"It was…I met this girl at a bar. She seemed awesome and really hot." Dennis said, managing to talk but was still shaken up over what happened. "She told me she had the hook up at a secret club, so we came here. Everything seemed fine until…until it started to rain blood."

"It rained blood?" Will asked.

"Yeah. It came down from the sprinklers…and they just went crazy. I tried to make it out of here and they started to attack me…" Dennis said. "I thought that they were just crazy but…they…they're monsters."

"Dennis, what happened after?" Will asked.

"Crazy shit, man." He told him.

"You can tell me the truth, Dennis. I'm here to help."

"You won't believe me, man. You'll think I'm crazy." Dennis said.

"Trust me, I deal with crazy on a regular basis. Not to mention that just a few weeks ago, we dealt with an alien invasion. There's nothing you could say that would make me think you're crazy." Will pointed out.

"They…they were vampires." Dennis told him.

"Vampires?" Will asked.

"Yeah, dude. Vampires, sharp fangs and everything, man. I'm telling you the truth. They nearly killed me before he walked in." Dennis said.

"Before who walked in?" Will asked.

"Some black guy in a trench coat." Dennis said in a more relaxed tone, indicating that the individual he was talking about didn't harm him. "They called him Blade. Once he showed up, they all got scared."

"What did Blade do?" Will asked.

"He killed the fuckers." Dennis told him. "I mean, shot gun, machine gun and then he took a fucking samurai sword and sliced a bunch of them to pieces."

Honestly the entire thing sounded like something out of a comic book, but he could tell Dennis was telling truth. "Ok, if they were vampires and all that happened, what happened to the bodies?" Will asked as Dennis pointed to one of the piles of ash that the CSU team was analyzing. "They turned into ash?"

"Yeah, I was in the washroom hiding in the corner when the shooting started. Blade staked one of them on the wall over there." Dennis pointed to the blood and scorch marks on the wall where the CSU teams were marking off the area.

"The burning corpse? He was a vampire?" Will asked and Dennis nodded.

"Yeah, Blade called him Quinn." Dennis told him. "After that, he let me go."

"Just like that. He didn't hurt you?" Will questioned but Dennis shook his head no.

"He did this thing and checked my neck but then the cops showed up." Dennis said. Will used his telepathy and checked Dennis's memories of what happened, and he was telling the truth. He looked through his memories and saw that this was set up as a club and everyone here had fangs and nearly did kill him before this Blade showed up. From how the memories played out, it was like Blade knew they were vampires and everything before heading in. No wasted movements or actions during the fight, he was in complete control.

"Ok, Dennis. I believe you. Once the medic gives you a check over, another agent is going to want to talk to you. Don't worry, you're gonna be fine. I promise." Will assured him and Dennis nodded. He stepped to the side and right on time the SHIELD containment crew arrived, so he addressed the police. "All right, Gentlemen. I appreciate your cooperation so please step aside. This is officially a SHIELD operation until further notice. Your departments will be made aware and the correct fee for your jobs will be deposited. Thank you."

The police stepped aside while a SHIELD containment crew got to work on bagging all evidence and surveying the entire area. Will walked over to some of the agents in charge of the field teams to coordinate the process. "I want this entire area bagged and tagged within the hour and start up a perimeter on this entire side of the island. I want CCTV and security camera footage from within a 20-block radius for anything out of the ordinary and find out who owns this building." Will ordered and the agents got to work. He took out his phone and contacted SHIELD operator command.

 _"_ _Status report, Agent Detmer?"_ The operator asked.

"Situation contained for the moment but something definitely bizarre is going on. Run the name Blade through SHIELD's database, codenames included. And send an additional containment team to the Winhurst hospital." Will told her.

 _"_ _Roger that. Can I ask why you need an additional team at the Winhurst hospital? We've gotten no report of any unusual activity there."_ They questioned as Will walked out of the factory and over to his SHIELD transport which was a black BWM M3.

"They just sent a vampire to the hospital." Will told her before hanging up and driving there as fast as he could. If his gut feeling was right, that vampire was not dead and would go on a rampage.

Line Break xxxxx

At the hospital, Quinn's body was pulled into the morgue where doctors did their usual examination when they noticed something odd about it. Hematologist Dr. Karen Jenson was baffled by the sample she was given by Doctor Curtis Webb and he escorted her to see the body. They were in the morgue lab and Curtis began the Y-incision to check the internal organs. Will arrived in a hurry and rushed down to the morgue when he heard screaming and pulled out his gun. He rushed through some double doors and saw a bunch of doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers running away from a charred and burnt man biting a doctor on the neck. Blood was coming down her neck and Will figured the vampire was feeding on her, so he fired a bullet and nailed a headshot. The vampire hit the wall and slid down to the floor while he rushed over to check on Doctor Karen Jenson.

"Hang on. You're gonna be ok." He grabbed some gauze from a hospital cart and applied pressure to the wound to try and stop the bleeding. He pressed down as blood ran down his hands and soaked the gauze. Despite the wounds being small from teeth fangs a lot of blood was coming out meaning he nicked an artery. Before Will could do anything else to try and help, he was pulled away with a good amount of force and thrown up against a wall by the burnt vampire corpse he just shot. He saw the bullet wound had some blood dripping out only for the bullet to actually be pushed out and clink on the floor, cracked and flattened. The vampire pushed Will into the wall and tried to bite him on the neck. He pushed back but the vampire had some impressive strength and inched forward, growling and snapping with his mouth. Will kneed him in the groin, grabbed his charred head and slammed him into the wall before kicking him back.

"Ugh, gross." He shook his hands to get the charred skin and pus off when the vampire got back up and growled at him. He charged forward only to get a roundhouse kick to the face and knocked through the air. The double doors down the hall were kicked open and in strode Blade. Will recognized him from Dennis's memories and knew he was a vampire killer. He walked up to the charred vampire and punched him in the face.

"Came back to finish you off." Blade said.

"Get out of my way, you freak!" Quinn shouted, charging only to get punched in the face and knocked into a sink. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to use it as a weapon only for Blade to unsheathe his sword and slice his left arm off. It hit the ground as the doctor and Will saw it turn to ash.

Two officers showed up and aimed their guns at Blade. "Wait, hold your fire!" Will shouted but it was too late. They fired their bullets and hit Blade's body armor, pissing him off.

"Motherfucker, are you out of your damn mind?!"

"Get out of here, now!" Will ordered and they ran. Quinn took off down the hall so Will quickly emptied his pistol clip and loaded a special tracking dart bullet in the slide before rushing after the fleeing vampire. He took aim and slowed his breathing like Barton taught him before firing the bullet. Quinn dove out the window but before he fell to the ground, the tracking dart hit him in the back of the leg. Will rushed to the window to see an ambulance with a caved in roof.

He heard some movement and saw a dozen police officers enter the floor, opening fire at Blade. "Hold your fire!" Will shouted, rushing over to stop them. He held up his badge and some of them stopped but two trigger happy officers rushed over to stop Blade. He had thrown the doctor across the street to the roof of a building before jumping himself. The two officers fired when Will knocked their guns away. "I said hold your fire!"

Will quickly loaded another tracking dart into his gun when Blade fired back at them, scaring the officers away. Will quickly fired the dart as Blade ran away with the Doctor and hit the tail end of his trench coat. "Drop your weapon!" One of the officers shouted at him only for Will to flash his badge.

"Stand down." Will ordered and the officer lowered his weapon.

"Sorry, sir." The officer replied.

"Secure the entire hospital. Get medical attention for anyone hurt but no one leaves or enters. Is that understood?" The officer quickly nodded and got to work just as the SHIELD containment team arrived. Will spoke with the other SHIELD agents and told them what he wanted them to do. Secure all evidence and get the first victim stabilized and looked after by a scientist so they knew what they were dealing with. Once everything was secured, he began tracking down the vampire. He drove through the city and traced the tracking dart's signal on his phone. The vampire was fast and made it over ten blocks away in a hurry.

He stopped in the alley and got out, seeing the signal was nearby. He held his pistol out in front of him and slowly moved into the darkness. He used his telekinetic/psychic sense to check everything around him. It acted like a radar sense, allowing him to use his telekinesis/telepathy to scan a desired area close to him. It mapped out the entire area he wanted and fed the information back to his mind so it was like having an active and detailed map in his head so he could find whatever he wanted. All he found were rats, crows, insects, a whole lot of garbage and a dead body. He walked over and saw the dead body of a homeless man on the ground. He saw gross charred skin on the ground, probably having been molted or shed by the vampire. If his knowledge of vampires in pop culture were any indicator and how the one from the hospital pushed the bullet out of its head, healing fast was likely one of its abilities. Given the lack of blood and how emaciated the body looked, the vampire must have sucked him dry in order to heal.

Will checked the body and found the tracking dart on the body's coat. It must have gotten snagged when he was feeding. That's when he noticed the dog tags around his neck that read _Corporal Adam Watson, draft date March 13_ _th_ _, 1965_ …a Vietnam Veteran. "Rest in peace soldier." Will put the dog tags down and saluted him in respect before calling the police. He stuck around to talk to the police and the paramedics who took the body to the morgue. Will even told them that he'd personally take care of the funeral arrangements and made some calls. He watched the ambulance drive away with the body sighing in sadness at what he saw, no one deserved that. He needed to find this vampire and the others in the city.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he got a phone call and checked it to see it was from Deputy Director Hill, so he answered. "Detmer."

 _"_ _Agent Detmer, report into the Manhattan base now."_ Hill ordered.

"But Ma'am I'm not finished. There's still another lead I need to run down." He told her.

 _"_ _Report to the Manhattan base now. Director Fury's orders."_ Hill told him before ending the call.

"Of course, Fury knows what's going on. What fresh hell does he have for me now?" Will got into the car and drove away. He drove as fast as he could to the Manhattan SHIELD base and managed to get there before morning gridlock traffic. He parked the car on the street and walked into the same building where his parents died and where Cap was brought after his deepfreeze. He walked in and scanned his badge at the reader by the front desk where he was then escorted to special meeting room where Deputy Director Hill was waiting for him.

"That'll be all." Hill told the agents escorting him. They nodded and left, leaving the two of them in the meeting room alone. Hill pressed a few buttons on her tablet which caused the door's triple lock and soundproofing to engage along with closing the blinds and securing the entire area so no one could eavesdrop on the conversation.

"What's going on?" Will asked.

"The director will explain." Hill pressed a few more buttons and the wall moved apart to reveal a high-tech monitor and webcam. It turned on and an encrypted communications line activated before Director Fury appeared via video chat.

"Director." Will and Hill greeted him.

 _"_ _Agent Detmer, your personal opinion on the situation in the Bronx?"_ Fury asked.

"Definitely abnormal, sir. Especially given eye witness testimony and the follow-up situation at the hospital." Will replied, acting like an agent. He would have given a sarcastic answer but noticed the grimace on Fury's face was extra today. "Vampires, if you believe the eye witness."

"And do you?" Hill asked.

"I do. He had no reason to lie and the evidence at both scenes seem to support that." Will replied. He noticed Fury give Hill a subtle nod and she brought up two security camera image stills of two people. One was a white male, probably in his fifties but had the grizzled aura of a veteran whereas the other picture was of Blade only maybe as a teenager.

"Did you see either of these two at the hospital?" Hill asked.

"Him but he's older." Will said when he noticed the look Fury and Hill shared. "Sir, what is going on?"

 _"_ _Something we thought was settled has come back to bite us, both literally and figuratively."_ Fury told him. _"Vampires."_

"So, I'm right We are dealing with vampires." Will said. "Where the hell did they come from? I mean, is this weird disease or virus or what?"

"We don't know for sure. We though they were extinct." Hill said.

"Extinct, ok, hold on for one second. Director, you actually said Vampires and didn't break down laughing. I looked over SHIELD's files in my downtime and never once saw any mention of vampires or anything like this before." Will told him.

 _"_ _Because it's been locked away in a highly classified file in SHIELD's archives that was buried years ago. And the reason we buried it is because we thought we killed every last vampire over two decades ago."_ Fury told him.

"What happened?" Will asked.

 _"_ _This was before I was even an agent. Around the 60s, SHIELD began investigating odd circumstances and deaths around the world and the further we dug into them we realized that something was very wrong with the world."_ Fury told him. " _We discovered a secret: The Hominus Nocturna. Vampires are real and they exist."_

"So, how come I've never encountered something like this before?" Will asked.

"Because as of 20 years ago we thought they were extinct. Once SHIELD realized that vampires were real, they began using every measure they could to track them down and kill them, but it was not easy." Hill told him.

"So, what? Everything Braham Stroker wrote was true?" Will questioned.

 _"_ _Not all of it. To be honest, we were only able to scratch the surface of their background. SHIELD had a specialized taskforce and department to deal with Vampires and the supernatural which often contracted vampire hunters for help. They provided us with intel, cooperation and we kept the police and media off their backs. Vampires got smart over the years and had to adapt to a changing world. They changed their hunting tactics and began blackmailing or paying off people of note for their own purposes. Police forces, politicians, anyone in a position of authority or power was likely visited by a vampire. It made tracking them down difficult but not impossible."_ Fury explained. " _20 years ago, a large worldwide operation was conducted with vampire hunters that took down entire nests and groups all over the world. We wiped out millions of vampires along with their leaders and after that we considered the matter closed and everything about their existence was put under lock and key."_

"Then what changed?" Will asked.

"We don't know but the past year we've getting whispers and chatter from their old network but nothing definitive. Until recently we've been getting reports of disappearances and attacks at meat packing factories or slaughterhouses all over the country, usually in highly populated cities." Hill explained.

"Like the factory in the Bronx that was set up like a rave club. It was a vampire hangout." Will said as both of them nodded.

 _"_ _Tonight, was the proof that we needed to confirm our suspicions that we didn't obliterate all the vampires and instead sent them into hiding. They're back now and that means so are we."_ Fury told him. He nodded to Hill who brought over a small briefcase. Will opened it to see it contained over two hundred silver colored .45 caliber pistol rounds and a combat knife with a weird metal blade.

"What is this?" Will asked.

"Silver nitrate bullets laced with garlic extract and a silver/carbon steel combat knife. Leftover from the last vampire operation. We're getting the rest out of storage as we speak. Vampires are dangerous but they're not unkillable, especially to a super soldier like you. You just need to know how." Hill told him.

"All right, anything else? Holy water? Crosses?" Will asked.

"No. Silver, garlic and sunlight. Those are the only ways to kill a vampire." Hill corrected him.

"Good to know." Will began loading one of the pistol mags with the silver bullets. "How does Blade fit into all this?"

 _"_ _He was an apprentice to a vampire hunter we worked with in the past, Abraham Whistler. If they're on this then something big must be going on. Find Blade and Whistler and get to the bottom of all of this. Get as much intel as you can and take down any vampires you come across."_ Fury ordered as Will finished filling the magazine and loaded it into his pistol.

"Roger that." He replied.

Line Break xxxxx

In a secret underground area of Manhattan, hidden away from the rest of the city by miles of tunnels and bricks sat the vampire elders. They were purebloods and leaders of their kind in this hemisphere of the world. The elders had gathered to go over the recent distresses to their kind dealing with the ramping attacks by Blade. After the attack on their kind 20 years ago that nearly wiped them all out, they had spent all this time in hiding and slowly growing their strength back. They had to adapt their hunting strategies and slowly regain their influence and it was working. They weren't as powerful as they were before but were slowly becoming a force to be reckoned except for the vampire hunters around the world. Especially Blade…he was a problem.

One of the elders, Gitano Dragonetti was looking over pictures of the recent attacks by Blade. He had been tracking their kind all over the country and his most recent attacks in New York were distressing. "Blade…" Dragonetti sighed, seeing the charred remains of his kind and of their familiars. "The Daywalker…still pursuing this ridiculous crusade. How many died?"

"We don't have an exact count. Apparently, he used a lot of silver." Another elder told him. "We're having difficulty—"

"Send in Frost." Dragonetti ordered so one of the attendants walked out of the meeting room to get him. He was escorted into the room and sat at the table to explain himself.

 _"_ _You are a disgrace to the vampire nation, Frost. If we expose ourselves like this and gather in numbers that risk breaking the treaty, then the human politicians will make our lives very difficult."_ One of the elders told him in some ancient Slavic/vampire language. _"You would understand this if your blood were pure. Don't we have enough trouble with Blade?"_

Frost paid him no mind and kept smoking his cigarette like nothing was wrong. "These nightclubs of yours are dangerous." Another elder told him.

"Are they?" Frost asked.

"They draw needless attention to our kind. Your latest attempt even brought SHIELD sniffing at our heels. You know our policy."

"Your policy, not mine." Frost replied.

"Our livelihood…depends on our ability to blend in and our discretion. For the last twenty years we have come back from extinction and have prospered because all of our kind understands that hiding in plain sight is the only way for us to live." Dragonetti told him.

"Well maybe it's time we forgot about discretion and hiding. We should be ruling the humans and not running from them, making back alley treaties with them and hiding. For fuck's sake, these people are our food, not our allies." Frost told them.

"You're out of line, Frost." An elder told him.

"Am I? Or maybe I'm just the first to say out loud what we've all been thinking." Frost said, standing up from his seat. "The humans are too busy looking to space for the next attack when they don't know we're right under their noses. We attack them now and then we rule the world."

"You think you know any better, Frost? Many of our kind thought as you did, most of them were half-breed abominations like you were and their actions led us to near extinction. They got careless, thinking themselves as above the humans when it was the humans who killed them. SHIELD was made aware of our existence because of vampires like you and nearly wiped us out. I saw hundreds of my kin slaughtered and it was only by sheer luck and will that we are still alive today. What do you know of the struggle everyone in this room has been through? Who are you to question us? You're not even a pure blood." Dragonetti insulted him.

"Like it matters." Frost told him.

"I was born a vampire, as was every other member of this house, but you Frost…you were merely turned." Dragonetti said, enjoying the satisfaction with the insult.

"The world belongs to us. Not the humans. You know that, we all know that." Frost told him only for Dragonetti to disregard that comment.

"Do we have any other business matters to discuss?" Dragonetti asked.

"Uh, there's the matter of our offshore accounts. We're having difficulty in— "Frost just scoffed and stood up to leave but stopped to say one last thing.

"Gitano. You may wake up one day and find yourself extinct."

Will was driving through the city, following the coordinates he got from the tracker on Blade's trench coat. It cut out a few hours ago but he might be able to figure out a rough estimate of where he was from his last known location. According to Fury's files on the vampire hunters, they tended to stay away from heavy populated areas for safety purposes and places where they could hide their scent. Will ended up driving someplace in the outskirts of Queens nearby some old factories. The factories were abandoned which meant that no one would be around, and they were old chemical factories so the lingering smell would keep the vampires off their backs. Will parked his car some place close by and used his telekinetic sense to feel out for Blade and found him in one of the old factories.

Will walked into the old factory and heard some music which meant he was on the right track. He made his way through the factory and noticed some equipment when his danger sense went off, so he rolled forward to avoid a sneak attack from above. He quickly moved into a touchdown raiz and butterfly spin to avoid a spinning glaive before landing in a crouch and engaging in a fight with his mystery assailant. He blocked, parried, and dodged punches and kicks and whoever he was fighting was very skilled and strong. He ducked under a roundhouse kick and followed up with his own spin kick. Another duck and spin before pulling out his silver combat knife with his left hand and his gun with his right. He got back to his feet and held his knife at the heart of his attacker and pointed his gun to his right while he felt a blade at his neck and a saw the glint of a laser sight on his forehead.

Will got a good look at Blade and kept his combat knife aimed at his heart while Blade had a knife of his own right at his throat. He saw Whistler off to the side with an assault rifle's laser sight aimed at his head while his own pistol was set on him. A little Mexican standoff between the three. You could feel the tension in the air and hear a pin drop it was so quiet. "So, the information on you wasn't exaggerated at all." Will spoke, breaking the silence in the room.

"I don't like to be followed." Blade told him.

"You've got five seconds to tell us who you are and why we shouldn't kill you?" Whistler warned him, ready to shoot him then and there.

"Someone on your side." Will replied.

"And what side would that be?" Blade asked.

"The side that understands how dangerous that walking charred corpse at the hospital is and others like him." Will replied. He slowly lowered his pistol and eventually holstered it while Blade and Whistler kept their weapons trained on him. He reached into his pocket and flashed them his SHIELD badge. "Will Detmer of SHIELD."

Once they saw the badge, they both began to relax. Whistler lowered his rifle a little bit while Blade kept his knife at his throat. "Why are you here?" Whistler asked.

"To figure out what the hell is going on and kill any vampires in the way. And judging by the fact that SHIELD thought they were extinct my boss wants to know what they've been doing." Will told him. "He sent me."

"You? SHIELD must really be desperate if they sent a kid." Blade commented.

"This kid fought you to a standstill, Blade. And I'm not a regular agent." Will corrected him. "No regular agent could tag you with a tracking dart. Besides, if the vampires really are back then you'll need SHIELD's help to keep the police off your back. Like it or not, this is no longer your problem and considering that meat warehouse was used as a club, you're gonna need all the help you can get."

Whistler finally lowered his rifle and Blade reluctantly did the same. Will sheathed his combat knife and put his badge away. "I don't know what you were told, kid but this kind of shit is something that will get you killed."

"I have experience with that already. Besides, they wouldn't have sent me if he didn't think I could handle it. I've dealt with serial killers, drug traffickers, pirates, human traffickers, terrorists and enemy agents along with aliens from the battle of New York, I can handle this. Besides…" Will ejected the magazine from his pistol to show the silver bullets. "I'm armed."

Whistler and Blade shared a look before the half-vampire finally lowered his guard completely and sheathed his knife. "Fine, but don't expect me to come save your ass when you can't handle the real work." Blade warned him.

"Relax, Blade I can handle myself." Will told him. "So, besides the fact that the vampire race isn't extinct, what are we dealing with?"

"A lot." Whistler told him as they walked over to his work station. "We've been taking down vampire cells all over the country for the past few years. They've cropped up and we've managed to track down a lot of them hoping we'd get a lead on the elders."

"Elders?" Will asked.

"Leaders of the vampires for the country. Last of their kind to survive the attacks over 20 years ago, in this part of the world, at least. They have say over everything that goes on with their little rats. You see, most of the vampires we tend to deal with were people that were turned. A vamp's fangs have a virus in it that will either kill you or turn you and once that happens, you're one of them. But the elders…they were born vampires meaning they're stronger than the one you met at the hospital." Whistler told him.

"Quinn, little errand boy for a vampire we've been hunting, Deacon Frost." Blade said, and Will noticed the trace of anger and distaste in his voice.

"Frost is a little punk but controls most of the turned vampires in the city." Whistler told him.

"How many of them are there in the city?" Will asked.

"Probably a few hundred thousand but more come and go every day. They blend in like normal people and in a city like this, they thrive in the nightlife. Besides, with how many people die a day on the planet, it'll take a lot to get people's attention." Whistler said, walking over to the refrigerator to get a small vial of liquid. He went back to his station and began mixing it with stuff. "We've taken down the cells in other parts of the country and New York is the last one, but it's been a lot harder to operate here. They pay off police and politicians and anyone else they need to in order to do what they do."

"Like that meat warehouse in the Bronx." Will added and Whistler nodded. "They may be vampires, but they also operate like normal criminals or organized crime groups and I know how they operate. And if they are paying off people, I think I have a way to make this search a lot easier."

"How?" Blade asked as Will took out his phone and pressed EDI's AI icon.

"EDI run down every single name from the warehouse club and back trace every single deed and money payment along with every single piece of evidence from the attack. Plus, run Deacon Frost name through your database to find anything." Will told her.

 _"_ _Sure thing. I'll run it through SHIELD, FBI, and local police databases and let you know what I find."_ EDI replied. Will put his phone away and saw the looks he was getting.

"Another plus to having myself and SHIELD help you is that we'll be able to track down other leads for you." Will told them.

"How lucky do you think you'll actually get with that search?" Whistler asked, finishing whatever mixture he was working on and loaded it into a high-powered serum injector.

"I've been known to be unlucky, but this isn't luck, it's tactics. If these vampires have their hands in the pockets of politicians and other important people like you say they do, then that can be tracked. This day and age, if you want to be in control like you say they are then you can be tracked down. If not them directly then someone who's working for them." Will explained. "Besides, taking down criminals and evil people, this is what I do best."

"Whatever." Blade said, sitting down in a medical chair. Will just let it go when he remembered something from the hospital.

"Where's the woman you took from the hospital? Dr. Jenson?" He asked.

"The doctor? She's either dead and if not, she's turned by now. She's sleeping off an injection of garlic extract." Whistler told him. "She's smart, that's for sure. Working on some advanced hematologist work."

"Dr. Karen Jenson, viral hematologist with a background in epidemiology. Well, she's going to be in for a shock if she wakes up." Will replied when he saw Blade get strapped into the medical chair and Whistler walk over with the serum. "Do you need any help?"

"We're ok, kid." Whistler told him before looking at Blade. Blade got comfortable in the chair as his arms were strapped into place to keep him from lashing out. Will was a little concerned about what was going on, but Whistler and Blade seemed completely fine as if it was normal. "I had to increase the dose. It's over 50 milligrams now and that's getting dangerous."

"Just do it, old man." Blade told him. Whistler put a mouth guard in his mouth and when he got a nod of approval, he injected the serum into Blade's neck. Once it was done, Whistler held Blade's hand as he seemed to have a violent reaction to whatever was in that serum. Will was ready to help but after about 15 more seconds it seemed to settle, and Blade was fine.

"I'm not even sure what just happened." Will said to them.

"It's a long story, kid." Whistler replied when he noticed something. Will turned and they saw the doctor standing there. She made a break for the exit, so Will and Whistler quickly rushed over to stop and talk to her.

"Dr. Jenson, stop! We're here to help." Will quickly got in front of her. "Please, we're not here to hurt or harm you in anyway. We're here to help.

"Who are you people?" She asked.

"My name is Will Detmer, I'm with SHIELD." Will flashed her his badge. "This is Abraham Whistler and you've already met Blade."

She turned and saw Blade standing behind her with his glaive ready to use. "Where am I?"

"Someplace safe. Suffice it to say your world just got a whole lot more interesting." Will told her. "Just take a breath and we'll explain everything."

Dr. Jenson managed to calm down a bit which was a good thing. I guess seeing Will's badge made her feel a little more at ease. Blade had gotten changed and was looking over some information for his next hunt. Whistler turned on a nearby gas pump and began fueling Blade's black Dodge Charger before lightning a cigarette.

"So, am I a prisoner here?" She asked.

"Not at all. We just had to take certain precautions before we let you go." Whistler told her. "You have to understand, they're everywhere. Vampires—The Hominus Nocturna. We hunt them, you see. Me and Blade hunt them, and the kid belongs to an agency that nearly wiped them all out years ago. Unfortunately, they're like rats and tend to stick around. We move from one city to the next by tracking their migrations. They're hard to kill. They tend to regenerate."

"And I'm supposed to believe all this?" She asked.

"Well, you already met Mr. Crispy at the hospital." Blade told her. "What do you think?"

"That and aliens invaded New York less than a month ago so weird is kind of the new normal. And considering that vampire was able to shrug off a .45 caliber bullet to the head means Whistler's telling the truth." Will added.

"So, what do you use then? Stakes? Crosses?" She asked.

"Crosses don't do squat. Some of the legends are true, though. Vampires are severely allergic to silver. Feed them garlic and they go into anaphylactic shock. Then, of course there's always sunlight, ultraviolet rays." Whistler walked over and pulled out a bag from a cabinet. He opened it to reveal it was a large UV lamp. He turned it on and shined Dr. Jenson in the face which she quickly turned to avoid, Will in the face which he just blocked with his hand and Blade who didn't react at all. "I got this sucker running. You want to give it a try tonight?"

Blade walked over and took the large UV lamp. "It's still heavy." He said as Whistler looked him over.

"Well, you're so big." Whistler told him.

Blade grabbed the rest of his gear and weapons and walked over to his car. "If you want to live to see another day you'll be out of town by nightfall."

"So where am I supposed to go?" She asked.

"You've been exposed to them. One way or another someone's gonna take you out." Blade told her before getting in his car to leave.

"Well, he's just touch of sunshine, isn't he?" Will asked sarcastically. "Don't worry, Dr. Jenson. I'll take you someplace safe."

"Thank you. Would it be possible for me to get some things from my apartment?" She asked and he nodded.

"Sure, but we'll have to be quick. Blade might be right, and someone could be waiting for us so just stay close to me and I promise you'll be fine." He swore to her. Whistler walked over and handed the doctor a pepper spray bottle.

"Here. It's Vampire Mace. Silver nitrate with essence of garlic. You keep your eyes open and be careful." He told her.

"So, that's it. You just patch me up and that's it?" She asked.

"There's a war going on out there. Blade, I, and the organization the kid works for try to keep it from spilling out onto the streets. Unfortunately, sometimes people like you get caught in the crossfire." Whistler told her.

"Why not tell people the truth?" She asked.

"Who would believe us?" Will questioned. "And if we did then it'd only cause chaos."

"The kid's right." Whistler added. "They've been around for centuries, possibly millennia. You probably have met a few of them on the street, subway or a bar. We thought we got rid of them all years ago but only sent them into hiding. They've spent years biding their time and buying the police and people in power so things like this go unnoticed. With SHIELD back in the know hopefully that will change."

"Let's go, Dr. Jenson. We'll figure out something for you." Will told her as they walked to the exit.

"One more thing." Whistler took out a cigarette and lit it. "Buy yourself a gun. If you start getting sensitive to daylight, if your find you're thirsty regardless of how much you had to drink, then I suggest you take that gun and use it on yourself. Better that than the alternative."

"Both of you are just cheery, aren't you?" Will escorted Dr. Jenson over to his SHIELD BMW and drove her to her apartment near Chinatown. After some driving and moving through traffic, Will parked his car on the street and grabbed a few extra things before escorting Dr. Jenson inside her building. While they were waiting for an elevator, they noticed odd tattoo marks on the back of the necks of a man and woman, probably a couple. He got an odd feeling in his stomach, so he did a quick mental mind read on them and they were following the doctor on the orders of a vampire. Once the elevator arrived and the little awkward silence they arrived on her floor and walked to her apartment.

Just before the elevator closed, one of the two people with the mark stopped it and followed them. _"Head to your apartment and get packed. I'll be right there."_ He whispered to her. She sped up her walk while he slowed down. Once she was out of view he quickly turned and roundhouse kicked both in the face, knocking them unconscious. He dragged them into the stairwell before pulling out some zip cuffs he had in his pocket and tying them up. A little searching and he found two knives and two small caliber pistols. He took the sim cards out of their phones before doing a mental search on both and they worked for the vampire named Gitano. Apparently, Gitano ordered one of his lower level guys to order them to watch over the Doctor after what happened at the hospital. He called in a SHIELD team to secure and send them to Hill for questions before walking into the Doctor's apartment where she was packing up as quickly as she could.

"Everything ok?" She asked.

"Fine. Just a rodent problem. I took care of it." He told her when they heard a knock at the door. He motioned her to stay quiet as he took out his pistol and quietly walked over to the door. He looked through the peephole to see it was uniformed police officer.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"Uh, NYPD. Officer Krieger. Is this the home of Dr. Karen Jenson?" He asked. She looked at Will and he nodded for her to answer.

"Yes, this is her." Dr. Jenson replied.

"Um, would it be possible for you to answer some questions?" He asked. Will took a few steps back behind an adjacent doorway, so he was out of sight before motioning her to continue.

"Sure, hang on." She walked over and unlocked the door to see the officer. "Can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm Officer Krieger with the 42nd precinct. I'm here on a routine check. May I come in?" He asked and she nodded, stepping back so he could walk in. They walked into her living room to talk. "I spoke with some of your colleagues at the hospital where you worked, and they said you were kidnapped last night. Are you ok?"

"What happened to the other doctor I was with?" She asked.

"Curtis Webb?" He clarified and she nodded. "Um, he died. But don't worry about that right now."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because you're dead too bitch." But before he could even grab his weapon, he felt something press against the back of his head and the click of a pistol hammer that made him freeze in place.

"I'd like to disagree with you on that." Will told him before grabbing the officer's gun, his radio, and cell phone. He handed the radio and phone over to the doctor before pushing Krieger back towards the middle of the room. "Dr. Jenson do you still have the vampire mace?"

She quickly handed him the bottle and he sprayed Krieger in the face with it. He recoiled from the burn and stumbled into some furniture. "You son of a bitch!"

"Why isn't it working?" She asked.

"Because he's not a vampire. He's human. I just wanted to do it because he deserved it." Will told her. "Besides, I think Blade over there would like to ask you some questions."

Blade was right behind Krieger who he sent to the ground with a leg trip and a swift kick to the gut that knocked him into a table. Blade pulled him up and slapped him hard in the face. "He's a familiar—a vampire wannabe." Krieger got another punch to the face and then the gut. "If he's loyal enough and he proves himself maybe his master will turn him."

Blade threw Krieger into Will who slammed his head into the wall two more times before throwing him to the ground. "Wait a second, how did you know he was there?" She asked Will.

"He was following us since we left. He wanted to use us as bait." Will told her. "Don't worry, you were safe with me the entire time."

Blade yanked Krieger over to them and pulled the back of his shirt down to reveal another strange mark like the one on the two strangers from the elevator. "That's a glyph—a vampire cattle brand. It means that Officer Krieger is somebody's property. Another vampire tries to bleed this little hooker, then they have to answer to his owner. Deacon Frost. We've been tracking him for a long time." Blade pulled him onto his feet and began taking his wallet and watch. "All right, Officer Krieger are you going to be a good little bloodhound, huh? Tell us what your master's been up to?"

"Oh, great you're robbing him. Are you going to rob me too?" She asked.

"How do you think we fund this organization, huh? We're not exactly the march of dimes." Blade took off Krieger's watch only to punch him in the face and knock him out. "Fake."

"Well, if you want some easy money, I tied two other familiars in the stairwell. They were tailing the doctor. Work for some vampire named Gitano. Does that name sound familiar?" Will asked.

"It does. He's one of the elders. Must be covering all loose ends. I'll deal with him later. For now, let's see what Officer Krieger has hidden from us." Blade led them and a beaten-up Krieger down to his patrol car. They popped the trunk to find a medical case of blood bags. "Well, it appears our friend here has been blood running."

Dr. Jenson opened the box to see the pouches of blood being kept cool and recognized the name of the clinic. "Hillburn clinic. I know this place, it's a blood bank."

"Owned by vampires. There's one in every major city and they always deliver." Blade said.

"Good. Another name to add to the list of things SHIELD can investigate. Where was this going?" Will asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about—AAH!" Blade slammed his head onto the trunk of the car.

"My friend is a little nicer than I am. I'm going to say this one last time. Where were you taking it?" Blade warned him with his hand set on his Mac-10 machine pistol.

"Go fuck yourself." Krieger told him.

"Fuck me? No, you fuck this." He pulled out his gun only for Will to grab his arm and stop him. Krieger took his change to escape into the crowd and run away. Blade would have shot but couldn't get a clear view and could have injured a civilian. Blade growled in anger and put his gun away before walking up to Will. "You better wake up, kid. The world you live in is a just a sugar-coated topping. There is another world beneath it—the real world. And if you want to survive you better learn to pull the trigger."

"Are you done?" Will asked, pulling out his phone that was currently tracking a GPS signal. "The reason I didn't want you to shoot him in broad daylight in front of civilians is because there's an easier way. I tagged him with the same tracer I tagged you with when I disarmed him. Now, we can follow him back to wherever he's going. I'm not an idiot and I'm not ignorant to the world I live in. I may not be as experienced with the whole vampire thing as you and Whistler are but I'm a quick study."

"Egh…rookie." Blade said to himself before they walked over to his car.

Line Break xxxxx

The SHIELD team took the two familiars Will subdued for interrogation. Will wanted Dr. Jenson to go with them and to get looked over by SHIELD doctors there but she said she was going to stick with him and Blade instead. She felt safer with them and knowing more about vampires would probably be the only way she could find a cure for the whole vampire thing. Blade felt that was idiotic, but the doctor was tough. They were sitting in Blade's Dodge Charger around the block from Krieger's police car. Will was sitting in the passenger seat up front while Dr. Jenson sat in the back next to Will's duffel bag that held his gear. A couple hours had passed, and it was night time. Will and Dr. Jenson were eating Chinese takeout while they waited for Krieger to come back.

Dr. Jenson ate her Lo Mein while Will finished his dumplings. Blade silently sat in the driver's seat waiting for Krieger to come back. "This is ridiculous. There's no way he's coming back. Nobody is that stupid." Dr. Jenson told him.

"When you understand the nature of a thing, you know what it's capable of." Blade told her.

"I, on the other hand have the belief that all opportunists and weasels like him are ignorant and predictable. That blood was going somewhere, and he was going to deliver it. Leaving it behind is going to piss off his vampire handler so he knows he has to come back for it." Will added. "The one thing you can count on with criminals is that unless you're dealing with a serial killer or a master con artist, they think they're smarter than they really are."

They waited about a minute more and the local bus stop at its regular stop with Officer Krieger rushing off and heading to the car. Blade gave them a smirk as he started the car. "Amen to stupid criminals." Will said to himself. Krieger took off and Blade followed him. Will took out his phone that was tracking the GPS signal and decided to listen in. "Let's see what Krieger is saying right now."

He activated the audio feed and they heard Krieger call into police dispatch. " _This is Officer Krieger, I'm at 16-0-0-9. Go ahead, this is Dispatch. Get me through. I got a delivery in progress here and I just had a run-in with Blade and SHIELD. We've got to clear out that clinic on Hillhurst, now!"_

"A little too late for that, now." Will said to himself because he knew SHIELD already raided it. "EDI figure out his cohorts in the police department then send the information to SHIELD. Time to remove a few more pieces off the boards."

 _"_ _Of course."_ She replied.

After about 20 minutes of crazy driving, Krieger pulled up to a Japanese club/sake bar in downtown. Blade pulled up in the alley across the way and saw the Vampire mark. "Looks like we hit pay dirt. That's a vampire mark. Means there's a safe house around here somewhere. A place they can go when dawn's coming." Blade told them.

They got out of the car and peaked out of the alley to see the club where Krieger was parked. Will took out his duffel bag and suited up, putting on his combat gloves and forearm guards along with his shoulder strap pellet holders. He tightened the strap of his leg holster and belt before fitting his HKP30L pistol with a suppressor and putting his Glock 17 into the hostler in the back of his jeans. He strapped his silver knife around his left ankle and grabbed a pair of the high-tech glasses he leant Arkin a few days ago when stopped the Collector.

"EDI, synch up to visual output and relay the information straight to Hill." Will told her.

 _"_ _Signal strength is strong, and she is receiving."_ Edi replied before a message from Hill came in video the digital display on his glasses that read: _Good luck and Happy Hunting, back up is twenty minutes out._

"Send reply, move in, secure area, and make sure they're packing silver. Also reply, thanks." Will told her.

While he suited up and got ready, Blade was inspecting the club and everything out front. "See that valets over there, they're vampires. So is the Doorman and the whore on the corner." He told them before walking over to his car to get ready.

"How can you tell?" Dr. Jenson asked as Will's video feed from his glasses was sending everything over to Hill.

"By the way they move, the way they smell. Psst." Blade tossed Dr. Jenson the UV lamp bag before ditching his coat and grabbing his sword.

"This is all like a bad dream." She said.

"They're worse things out tonight than vampires." He told her.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Like me." He told her before sheathing his sword behind his back and they walked over to the club. "Ok, Vampire antonym 101: crosses and running water don't do dick so forget what you've seen in the movies. You use a stake, silver, or sunlight. You know how to use one of these?"

Blade pulled out a Glock 17 and handed it to Dr. Jenson who hid it in her belt. "Nope, but I'll damn sure learn quick."

"The safety's off round's already chambered—silver hollow point filled with garlic. You aim for the head or the heart. Anything else is your ass." He told her as they got to the door when the bouncer stopped them.

"Do you have an invitation card?" He asked.

"Vampires?" Will asked for clarification and Blade nodded. "All right, I'll take care of the three behind us you take them."

"On your move kid." Blade said so Will quickly pulled out his pistol and fired a bullet into the head of the two valets with a third going into the heart of the vampire whore on the corner and all three bursts into flames and charred bones. Blade stabbed the bouncer's girl in the head with a silver knife before kicking the bouncer into the club. Blade and Dr. Jenson walked in followed by Will who shot a bullet into the head of the vampire bouncer, killing him. They walked into the club and got hit with flashing lights, bad music, crappy singing by women dressed in Japanese schoolgirl uniforms and an entire club filled with creepy looking Japanese men in suits.

"Are they vampires?" Will asked as they walked through club.

"No." Blade replied. They walked over to the bar and saw Officer Krieger head their way when he spotted them. Blade walked forward when one of the club's hidden bouncers got up to stop him only to get a punch to the face and nuts. Another grabbed Will's shoulder but got an elbow to the teeth.

"Kenji! Kenji!" Krieger shouted, running back into the kitchen. The bartender quickly knelt to grab a weapon from behind the bar only for Will to grab a serving tray and throw it at his face, knocking him into a shelf. Blade vaulted over the counter and round house kicked him in the head before grabbing Krieger and throwing him into the kitchen. Krieger hit a shelf before Blade grabbed him by the jacket. Will walked in and saw the chef at the stove.

 _"_ _Out."_ He said in Japanese and the chef quickly left.

"Where's the entrance?" Blade asked Krieger.

"I can't tell you that, man." Krieger begged him only to get thrown into a shelf.

"This is only starting and we're in a kitchen with a lot of things that can hurt. I'd start talking before he takes you over to the deep fryer." Will told him, stepping over the clutter on the ground. "Where's the entrance?"

"Ok. Ok. It's in the freezer." Krieger pointed to the professional grade refrigerator/freezer in the corner. Blade looked at him funny before punching him in the face and gut one more time. "Come on, man I already told you in it's the fridge!"

Will opened the fridge door and saw a passageway. Blade yanked around Krieger to give him one final warning. "You give Frost a message from me. You tell him it's open season on all suck heads." Blade pushed him away and he booked it out of there as quickly as he could. Dr. Jenson walked in to see the mess that was made.

"You really have mastered interrogation into an artform, haven't you?" Will joked before unholstering his pistol and going first followed by Blade and the doctor. He followed the hallway and was met by an elevator. "EDI, send word to Hill I'm heading underground so signal may cut out."

 _"_ _Understood. I'll do my best to circumvent this but record everything as a precaution."_ She replied as Will, Blade, and Dr. Jenson took the elevator down.

Line Break xxxxx

After about a minute of taking the elevator down to wherever it was going it stopped, and the doors opened to reveal rows of data storage devices like you would see at a tech company. Will stepped out and checked his corners and periphery to see they were clear. Blade walked into the area and began making his way through the room with Will and Dr. Jenson following him.

"What is this place?" Will asked.

"Some kind of archive." Blade told him, walking through the area like he was looking for someone. "This must be where they keep most of their records."

"This seems a little too high-tech for vampires." Dr. Jenson pointed out.

"They've got their claws into everything. Politics, finance, technology, real estate. They already own parts of downtown." Blade told her.

"Good for me." Will took out a small electronic sniffer/hacking bug and placed it into one of the free USB slots in one of the massive computers. "Soon, I'll learn everything that's in here. That should make finding them a lot easier."

Blade kept leading them through the massive archive section when they were hit with an odd and disgusting smell along with the sound of a high-pitched voice and keyboard clacking. "What's that smell?" Dr. Jenson asked.

"More importantly, I think we're not alone down here." Will said as they came upon a dark corner of the floor littered with dozens of monitors, screens, and computers along with a large bed and a very bad smelling, morbidly obese pale vampire.

"You will need 12 pure bloods for the ritual to work. Krieger is that you. He's here! He's here!" The vampire shouted.

"This must be Pearl, the record keeper." Blade said only for Pearl to let out a loud fart which made them cover their noses.

"Egh, I just lost my appetite for the next few days." Will commented.

"He's going to kill me. You need me Frost!" Pearl shouted. Will was confused when he saw one of the screens on the laptops was aimed right at him for the best view and it was a video conference. He signaled Blade who turned the laptop around to see Frost cleaning his face of blood.

 _"_ _Pearl, your history. Have the good grace to die with some fucking dignity. Congratulations, Blade."_ Frost told him. _"I hear you've been looking for me. I'm honored."_

"It'll pass." Blade told him. Will put another electronic sniffer bug into one of Pearl's computers to copy the research he was doing while Blade snapped his fingers which signaled Dr. Jenson to take out the UV lamp.

"What is that?" Pearl asked.

"That biscuit boy is a UV lamp. We're going to play a little game of twenty questions. Depending on how you answer, you may walk out of here with a tan. First question, what's that?" Blade pointed to the screen that showed a digital simulation of some kind of ceremony.

"Oh that, it's nothing. It's routine research. Actually, it's a video game." Pearl replied only for Blade to signal Dr. Jenson who began to burn him all over with the UV lamp. "ARRGGHH!"

Pearl let out a loud shrill shriek and was now sporting some serious burns and blood blisters. "That looked like it hurt." Will commented. "Honestly, if you care about yourself at all you might just want to answer the questions. Just, FYI."

"It's a fragment, a piece of the prophecy!" Pearl shouted.

"What prophecy?" Blade asked.

"Oh, I'm not really sure—AARGGHGGGG!" Pearl began shouting once again as Dr. Jenson turned the lamp back on. " _LA MAGRA IS COMING! THE SPIRITS OF THE 12—WILL AWAKEN THE BLOOD GOD!_ And there is nothing you can do about it, Daywalker!"

"Is that so?" Blade asked.

"Well, that's what Frost says." Pearl sheepishly replied.

"Then you won't mind me borrowing this for a while, will you?" Blade pulled out the hard drive of the computer that ran the simulation. "If he moves, fry him."

Dr. Jenson kept the UV lamp set on Pearl while Blade walked over to the large vault door on the far wall. Blade knocked his knuckles against the high-strength steel door. "What's behind here?"

"Nothing. It's—it's a storeroom. But you're wasting your time. There's nothing of importance to anyone." Pearl told him in a very nervous tone. Whatever was behind that door was important.

"Then I guess you won't mind if we take a look." Will said, walking over to the door. He took out a USB cable from his belt and plugged it into the touchpad computer on his left forearm guard. Normally to enter this security door you would need a special key card, but he circumvented that by easily ripping off the panel and plugging in the cable. Edi connected to the door's security system and began deactivating the security system. "Give it a few seconds and we'll be through."

"NO! ARGH!" Pearl screamed in agony and pain as Dr. Jenson burned him all over with the UV lamp. The shrill screaks of pain filled the room along with the smoke of Pearl's burning body. She shut the lamp off after about 30 seconds and Pearl was now a whimpering bloody, charred mess. Blade glanced over at the doctor who seemed perfectly calm.

"He moved." She told him.

A distinct high-pitched beep got their attention. "We're through." Will told them, putting the cable away and opening the large security door. They walked in to see a white room with a computer terminal but the true treasure trove was behind the set of glass doors. Will, Blade, and Dr. Jenson walked past the glass doors to see a large room with ancient vampiric scrolls/pages encased in glass panes like you would see with ancient documents at the Smithsonian or the Natural History Museum. "What the hell are these pages?"

"These are the pages from the Book of Erebus, the Vampire Bible. It contains everything…their entire history." Blade replied. "La Magra must be one of their legends."

Will looked over various pages on the display with the video camera in his glasses recording everything and sending it over to Hill along with having Edi record it to his personal storage. "They must be up to something big if Pearl was so dead set on keeping us away from here." Will said when he noticed Blade was on alert. He activated his telekinetic sense and realized why Blade was on alert. They were going to be having some company.

"Why is Frost so interested in La Magra?" Dr. Jenson asked.

"Shhh…" Blade shushed her as he and Will looked around. Will grabbed an explosive charge from his belt and tossed it to the side. It flew through the air and landed with an arming beep on the far wall. Blade walked through the rows of hung glassed documents hearing the faint wisp of air and glimmer of color that signified someone else was here. He followed the footsteps to the far side of the room where he found a young girl sitting against a pillar, afraid. "Give me your hand."

"Blade, we've got company!" Will shouted, ducking under a punch before spin kicking a goon in the face when he was blindsided by two from the side and tackled to the ground.

"Hola amigo! Do you remember me?!" Quinn walked into the room with Frost's errand girl by his side and a group of vampire thugs and armed familiars. Dr. Jenson was restrained, and the UV lamp was destroyed.

The no-longer frightened girl got up and landed a spinning back kick to Blade's chest and judging by the strength she was a vampire. She threw out a series of high kicks that he managed to block before getting kicked into a glass display. Several more high kicks aimed at his head came his way before he managed to grab her leg and knocked her out with a backhand to the face. He quickly broke the arms of a goon behind him and tossed him into another display before knocking out several more with strikes to the face and chest.

One highly skilled fighter managed to prove an equal to Blade with three others hitting him from the side and behind. He was thrown up against a pillar, his arms were restrained, his sword was taken, and a steel cable was wrapped around his neck.

"Nice one, man." Quinn patted one of his men on the back as he walked up to Blade with the captive doctor right by his side. "You took my arm, man. Remember. But it's cool. I got a new one." Quinn removed his glove to reveal the weird hand that had grown in on his left arm. "You think I'll ever play piano again? You can slice him, you can dice him, but the Quinn man just keeps coming!"

"Check it out! I've got his pig sticker!" One of Quinn's guys said, holding up Blade's sword only for two flaming skeletons come from behind and knock him to the ground. Will rolled forward and grabbed the sword, flicked a switch on the hilt so it didn't cut his hand and stabbed Quinn's vampire goon in the heart.

"No, I've got it." He tossed down four small pellets and pressed a button on his wrist computer that activated the explosive charge. It blew up and blasted a massive hole into the wall with a shockwave that destroyed most of the glass panels in the room. The shockwave knocked them all to the ground which freed Blade and Dr. Jenson. The four pellets on the ground exploded in a flash of loud ear-ringing noise and eye blinding flash with the flashbang and UV flash pellets providing the perfect combination to deal with the large group. The UV flash from the pellets burned a dozen vampires from the bright light and killed one, reducing him to a pile of smoldering ashes and charred bones. Will closed the distance and decapitated another vampire before cutting the steel cable around Blade's neck and grabbing Dr. Jenson. Blade took his sword back and the three ran as fast as they could to the hole made by Will's explosive.

"Get him!" Quinn shouted, holding his face which was now charred in parts because of the UV flash pellet. Several of his goons and familiars that weren't charred by the UV light grabbed their guns only for Will to fire his pistol and kill 12 of them with head or heart shots. The vampires who weren't hit fired their guns at the heroes, but they managed to duck into the hole and avoided the gunfire when Quinn stopped them. "NO! NO! NO GUNS! DROP THE GUNS! I NEED HIM! HE NEEDS BLADE ALIVE! GO!"

Will quickly reloaded his pistol and fired a few more shots before tossing another explosive charge into the room and heading down the tunnel with Blade and Dr. Jenson. The hole they went through led them into a side service tunnel in the subway. They kept moving when a passing subway made them stop for risk of getting squished. Dr. Jenson carefully shimmed out into the tunnel on the small ridge only a few feet away from the racing train. Will fired a few more shots and killed a few more familiars while making the others scurry back for cover. Blade followed along the small ridge and then Will came along when the second explosive charge went off. The explosion shook the ridge a little bit and killed more vampires and familiars. Luckily the speeding train finally passed so the heroes could land on the ground.

They quickly crossed the tracks when Quinn and his goons rushed out of the tunnel, so Will and Blade opened fire. Dr. Jenson kept moving when they heard the squeaking sounds of train wheels and the rumble of the tunnel, so they quickly got onto the walkway before the train arrived. Quinn took his chance and jumped across, barely making it past the train but the two lackeys who came behind him weren't so lucky and got squashed like bugs. Quinn charged forward only for Will to punch him across the face, but he bounced right back and tackled him into the wall. Quinn quickly pushed him aside to rush at Blade only to get grabbed him behind and thrown up into a wall. A knee to the gut, a punch to the throat, a chop to the collar bone, and then a swift kick to the groin. He raised his gun only for Quinn to knocked it away, so he slammed the vampires head into the speeding train which ended up breaking his neck and dragging the vampire's body down to the tracks. He'd probably need a lot of blood to heal from that.

"We need to go!" Blade shouted, grabbing the doctor while Will picked up his gun. Blade got close to the train and once Dr. Jenson made the connection, she instantly wanted to unknow what they were going to do.

"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this!" She shouted. Will unhook a small grapple hook from his belt and tossed it onto the train. It managed to hook on and yanked him with it while Blade had grabbed onto a train railing. The force dislocated his arm, but he and the Doctor were safely aboard. They rushed into the subway car which was conveniently empty. Blade sat down and clutched his arm in pain.

"It's dislocated." Will holstered his gun and grabbed Blade's shoulder. "This is gonna hurt."

"Just do it." Blade told him.

"All right, on three. One…" Will quickly shoved Blade's shoulder back into its socket in a sickening crunch that made the vampire hunter scream in pain. Blade reached into his belt and took out a vial of red liquid. "Let me help—"

"NO!" Blade moved away from both of them before pulling out a mini serum injector and managed to put the vial in before injecting it into his neck right into a vein. Blade's eyes seemed to gloss over and judging by the grunts, whatever that was seemed to make him better. Dr. Jenson saw enough to know what that was and what Blade really is.

"You're one of them, aren't you? A vampire?"

"No…I'm something much worse." He told her.

Line Break xxxxx

Blade, Dr. Jenson, and Will returned to Whistler with the information they had but the second they returned Blade excused himself to his private quarters. Figuring what happened, Whistler informed them of what Blade really was.

"I found him when he was 13. He'd been living on the streets, feeding off the homeless. His need for blood had taken over at puberty. I took him for a vampire at first and I almost killed him too. Then I realized what he was." Whistler explained while fixing his leg brace. "Blade's mother was attacked by a vampire while she was pregnant. She died but he lived. Unfortunately, he'd undergone certain genetic changes. He can withstand garlic, silver, even sunlight, and he's got their strength and enhanced speed. This time tomorrow all those wounds of his will be healed. He still ages like a human though. You see, vampires age slower than us. Unfortunately, he also inherited their thirst."

"Isn't that serum you made supposed to suppress that?" Will asked.

"Time's running out. His body's starting to reject it. So far, all my efforts to find a cure have failed."

"Well, you didn't have me. Give me a sample of his blood and if you have any vials of vampire blood, I'll take those too. I have someone who's a specialist. Maybe they can find something you can't." Will told him.

"I've been at this a long-time kid but I'm not hoping for a prayer." Whistler told him, walking over to the medical fridge and taking out a small vial of Blade's blood and another vial of vampire blood. "You really think you can cure him?"

Will took the vials and looked them over. "Me? No. But there are people who could do the impossible. Perhaps they can solve this too. If not at least make a better serum."

"Here's hoping." Whistler replied, drinking some whiskey.

"Why do you hunt them?" Dr. Jenson asked.

"I had a family once—a wife and two daughters. Then a drifter came calling one evening, a vampire. He toyed with them first, trying to make me decide which order they'd die in." Whistler replied. "We kill as many of them as we can find but it's not getting any easier."

"Because of Frost?"

"There's something happening in the vampire ranks. It's something big that has to do with what you found…and I'd stake my life that son of a bitch is at the center of it." Whistler said.

Will grabbed his gear and was heading out to deliver Blade's blood sample to someone who could figure out a cure but wanted to stop in and see Blade first. He walked in to Blade's room and saw the hunter sitting at his desk in silence.

"Blade…I wanted to see how you were doing before I head out." Will said only for Blade to not answer. "Whistler told me what happened to you…and what you are."

"You don't know me. You don't know anything about me. I'm not human." Blade told him.

"Neither am I." Will replied. "But from what I've experienced…humanity has just as much to do with philosophy as it does biology. And you're more human than some of the killers and monsters I've put down over the year."

"Humans don't drink blood." Blade said.

"That was years ago. You can't hold yourself accountable for that. It wasn't your fault." Will told him. "When are you gonna let that go?"

"I've spent years trying to find the thing that murdered my mother…it made me what I am. And every time I kill one of them, it gives me a little piece of that life back so don't you tell me about forgetting."

"You know…I understand." Will said. "I know you don't think I do but I can understand better than most. I was normal kid in college before this happened and pretty much every single part of my old life died the day my parents did. I'm not saying to let go of the past or what happened…I sure as hell won't. All I'm saying…the more you linger on what makes you monster the less you focus on what makes you human."

Will raised his hand and using his powers, telekinetically ripped out a brick from the wall before levitating it over so Blade could see. He clenched his fist and the brick exploded into dust before quickly reforming into a perfect ball. "Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. But just because some may call us monsters doesn't mean we are."

Will left soon after with Dr. Jenson and drove them over to the one place he was sure he could get help. Driving to Manhattan, he arrived at the STARK tower that was currently in the process of being refurbished as Avengers tower. Will grabbed his gear and escorted the doctor into the building where he made his way through the lobby to a secret side elevator. They got in and two light beams scanned them over. A palm scanner appeared so Will placed his palm and it scanned.

 ** _"_** ** _Welcome, voice authentication required."_** A robot voice spoke.

"Will Detmer." He spoke and the computer let out a confirmative beep.

 ** _"_** ** _Access granted, Aegis."_** The computer spoke back.

"Take me to see Dr. Banner." Will said the elevator went up to the top floors.

Dr. Jenson looked at Will who just winked at her and she smiled. Guess she was safe with a superhero by her side this entire time. The elevator eventually stopped on floor 90. Floors 90 and above were restricted to Tony Stark's personal floors and as the quarters for the Avengers. At the moment it was just Dr. Banner staying here who is exactly Will needed to see right now. The once destroyed floor that was spectacle to Will's beating of Loki and where he surrendered was now completely fixed and refurbished into the desired living quarters of the wealthy. Fancy furniture, a wide-open floor design with a custom bar and kitchen on the far side and various stairs leading to other floors and special rooms like a library, training area, engineering lab, medical ward and biomedical lab along with an armory and weapons room.

 _"_ _Good early morning, Mr. Detmer. It's good to see you again."_ Jarvis greeted him.

"Good to see you too, Jarvis. Is Dr. Banner here?"

 _"_ _Yes, he's in the medical lab at the moment. Is there anything I can do to help?"_ Jarvis asked.

"Actually yeah. Can you and Edi go over the data I compiled along with whatever's on this hard drive." Will walked over to a nearby smart table and placed the hard drive he took from Pearl's data room along with the USB sniffer device he used to copy all the information. "And try and do it as fast as you can. It's important."

 _"_ _Of course."_

 _"_ _Don't worry, Will. Jarvis and I will work as fast as we can."_ Edi replied, leaving the two AI's to their job while Will led Dr. Jenson upstairs to the medical lab where Dr. Banner was.

Dr. Banner was doing good at Avengers towers without a bounty on his head by General Ross and the Hulk now being a hero. He was dressed in some nice clean clothes, was clean shaven and with the lab coat and glasses on he was back in his element. "Dr. Banner?" Will knocked on the glass and once Bruce saw Will he smiled.

"Will, good to see." Bruce walked over and hugged him, and he hugged back.

"Good to see you too, Dr. Banner. You look good. Glad to know this high-rise techno-apartment is doing you good." Will joked. "Is Tony here?"

"No, he's back in Malibu. Busy building armors last time we spoke. So, what brings you by?" Dr. Banner asked when he noticed the guest.

"We need your help. This is Dr. Karen Jenson. Dr. Jenson meet Dr. Bruce Banner." Will took out two vials of blood and handed them to Bruce.

"What's the problem?" Bruce asked, looking over the vials.

"Well you're not going to believe me, but I'll tell you anyway. I hope you've read Bram Stocker's Dracula because apparently Vampires are real." Will told him.

"You're kidding." Bruce couldn't believe what he was hearing so Will explained everything he knew.

While Will worked on the vampire problem, said vampire problem was making moves of his own. Frost and his minions made a move to solidify his power and advance his plans of La Magra by taking Dragonetti out of the equation. He was kidnapped and hauled out of the city at a deserted beach where Frost planned to remove him from the equation and take his place on the council. Once that was done, his plans could move forward.

Frost and all his minions were wearing heavy black clothing and a lot of sunblock which prevented the coming sunrise from burning them but Dragonetti wasn't lucky. He was being dragged out by the water onto some rocks before the bag on his head was ripped off so he could see Frost had taken him. Even though the sun hadn't yet risen over the horizon just yet, the early sun rays were starting to burn him, and he was in immense pain. Frost was just enjoying himself. He put his arm around Dragonetti who was keeping his mouth shut to prevent Frost from hearing any grunts or shouts of pain.

"Good morning. Would you look at that?" Frost pointed to the horizon over the ocean and the tell-tale signs of sunrise. "Whew, getting a little toasty out there. Heh-heh. When was the last time you stopped to appreciate a good sunrise? Oh, that's right. You were born a vampire, so you never had the pleasure, have you? That's ok. It's all right. At least we're here together. To share the moment, which means a lot to me by the way, really. I mean that. Cause actually, you know, when you get to know me, I'm a fairly sentimental kind of guy. Bit of an innocent you might say."

Frost opened up Dragonetti's shirt to let the smoke from his burning flesh air out and to make it more painful and quicker. Blood blisters had already formed on his face and exposed skin but Dragonetti was staying strong. "Do what you want, Frost. Doesn't make any difference."

"You just don't fucking get it!" Frost ripped his shirt and jacket off in anger, so his torso began to burn as well.

"You're never gonna be a pureblood. You will never rule us!" Dragonetti shouted as Frost's minions held him so he could rip out his fangs with a pair of plyers. It was painful but Frost loved every minute of it. Once the last fang was out, they sat him on the sand to leave him to burn.

"Have a nice day." Frost bid him his final goodbye.

"Sorry old dog. You just got a bit too long in the tooth." Quinn joked only to get rolled eyes and groans in response.

Frost and his men put on bike helmets to cover their heads and shield their eyes as the sun finally peaked over the horizon and burned Dragonetti to a crisp before he exploded into chunky goo. With that taken care of, Frost called a meeting of the vampire council which he strolled into like he owned the place.

"What have you done to Dragonetti?"

The only response they got were his fangs being tossed onto the table. He was dead. "Let's get down to business. I need 12 volunteers for a special project I'm working on. And trust me when I say…it'll change the world."

"With all due respect Frost, shouldn't our concern be on Blade and SHIELD. They raided one of your establishments last night, killing everyone and absconding with who knows what."

"Don't worry about SHIELD. Or about Blade. I have a plan for them." Frost assured the council.

Line Break xxxxx

Back at Avenger's tower, Dr. Jenson and Dr. Banner were quick at work in the medical lab on the blood samples from Whistler along with analyzing Dr. Jenson herself to figure out a cure or at least something to stop the vampire virus. Will was in the armory because Jarvis said Tony had finished the upgrades to his suit when he took it a few weeks ago.

He walked into the armory room with weapons and equipment and saw there were six man-size lockers each ordained with a unique symbol on the center. The symbols were a blue, white, and red shield, a hammer, a green fist, a purple arrowhead in a circle, a black and red hourglass, and finally a blue glowing meteor. "Wow, Tony really went all out. Not sure about the glowing meteor as my symbol though."

He put his hand on the symbol which scanned it before unlocking with a hiss and opened. Inside was his full Aegis combat gear with hood and mask. The design was a little more refined and streamlined. It was still black with streaks of blue popping against the black. The lenses on his mask were more circular so they weren't as intimidated but other than that it was essentially the same. Strung up on the walls of the locker were various new weapons from different guns of various calibers with special bullets and a special black Oneida Kestrel Compound bow and quiver with blue colored arrows. "Huh, guess Tony took my training with Barton to it's likely conclusion. Or remembers my story from the island and figured I'd want one eventually."

He took the compound bow out and gave it a once over. It looked custom made and felt good in his hand. He brought the string back and the tension of the bow felt perfect. "There isn't anything Tony can't do, is there?"

 _"_ _I assume that you are enjoying the new weapon. Tony commented that perhaps you should change your name from Aegis to the Arrow."_ Jarvis commented.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen. Aegis has kind of grown on me." Will put the bow back. "So, what else has he done?"

 _"_ _Mr. Stark has improved the micro-weave Vibranium mesh under your suit by reinforcing it with a new steel alloy known as Carbonadium."_ Jarvis informed him.

"Never heard of Carbonadium."

 _"_ _It's a rather obscure yet very powerful metal alloy. Carbonadium was designed by the US government as an improved version of the substance known as Adamantium however the process instead created a more malleable and unstable metal. While its tensile strength and durability outclass every element on this planet except for Vibranium and Adamantium, it is far less durable then the two previously mentioned metals. However, it is an excellent bonding agent and Mr. Stark replaced the previous polymers with this metal to improve its strength and durability while not adding in additional weight or restrictions to your body. The new design is even capable to resisting deep sea and certain atmospheric pressure although he did caution against space travel until he refined the design. As he put it, your previous suit was good, this one is better. He's also improved your mask with new advanced vision modes and an improved recyclable oxygen supply that lasts over an hour should you require it."_ Jarvis explained. " _And your new mask retracts and folds much smaller than before and fits within the collar of your jacket for deployment. Simply press your left collar button or bring up your hood and it will deploy."_

"Tony certainly never slacks, does he." Will grabbed his suit and put it away in a spare duffel bag. He didn't need to draw attention yet but did get the feeling that he'd be taking this out on a test drive later. "Any luck on the data I had you go over."

 _"_ _Some luck, yes. Please direct your attention to the monitor."_ Part of the wall split apart to reveal a monitor. " _Edi, if you would like to start."_

 _"_ _Thank you, Jarvis. The images we scanned from the Book of Erebus were written in a language with roots in both Latin and Ancient Slavic numeric, so it took a while to translate but we eventually managed it. The pages spoke of a prophecy about an ancient vampiric blood god known as La Magra who ruled the ancient world before being banished by sorcerers if you believe the legends. According to the translations, he is an important deity in the ancient world as he created the first vampire."_ Edi explained.

"Dracula if that's what we're going with. Ok, what about La Magra?" Will asked.

 _"_ _The pages detailed a prophecy that La Magra could return through a vessel after a certain ritual was performed. This ritual involves the blood of pureblood vampires in a special temple although that's all we were able to decipher. After analyzing the digital data, you gave us, it would appear that Frost was having Pearl translate and research everything he could on how to complete this ritual including where it needs to take place. We're still working on that at the moment as components of it were deleted the second your hack was detected."_ Jarvis said.

"All right but do the best you can and hurry. Something tells me Frost is close on this. And what about the other information from Pearl's library?"

 _"_ _That was information on all the vampire dealings Frost and his followers dabble in along the eastern seaboard. Underground clubs for Vampires to assemble, shell companies and stocks they control to fund their activities, along with the people they control and fronts they use."_ Edi replied.

"Excellent. Send it all to SHIELD and let's start taking them off the chessboard. Keep working on the data for La Magra." Will finished packing up his suit and taking a few extra weapons including the bow and quiver. "Also, see if you can assemble some enhanced UV flash pellets."

" _Of course. Now I believe Dr. Banner has some information to tell you on the blood you brought him."_ Jarvis informed him.

Will made his way over to the lab where Dr. Banner and Dr. Jenson were analyzing the blood and running tests. "How's it going?"

"We've learned a lot so far. This vampire blood is very fascinating. Not too dissimilar from human blood only the Hemoglobin production is non-existent and once it's introduced it can't be sustained. Probably explains why they need blood to survive." Dr. Banner explained from his analysis of the blood. "It's a viral genetic defect not unlike hemophilia or hemolytic anemia but it's base cause seems to be a virus in the DNA. Probably from the vampire fangs. That's where Dr. Jenson and I came up with a possible way to treat it."

"We might be able to treat vampires with genetic therapy. A retrovirus to expunge the virus and allow normal biological process to continue. Not unlike how we've been treating sickle cell anemia patients." Dr. Jenson showed him a digital analysis of what they were proposing, and the initial computer results seem very positive.

"Is it safe?" Will asked.

"We're not sure but it's the only option at the moment if I'm going to find a cure for myself." Dr. Jenson replied.

"The results seem very positive and unlike a traditional case with the risk of mutation to a healthy subject, the mutation would actually destroy the virus and turn the vampire into a healthy subject so there is less risk." Dr. Banner informed him. "Give me a couple hours and I might have an early prototype we can test."

"So this could actually work as a cure for vampires? For Blade as well?" He asked but Dr. Banner wasn't entirely optimistic.

"If Blade is the person who the other blood sample belongs too…not entirely. His blood is vastly different. True it can't sustain Hemoglobin but the vampire sample you showed me were changed by an underlying virus in the DNA. The DNA was changed with a virus that can be removed. With Blade's sample, there's no viral cause, it's genetic. He was born with it. To cure him we would need a vastly different cure all together and even then, it could have some side effects." Dr. Banners told him.

"What kind of side effects?" Will asked.

"If we do manage to make a cure there's a chance that it'll take away his speed, strength and his accelerated healing. It'll make him human." She explained.

"But Dr. Jenson informed me of Whistler's serum to circumvent Blade's need for blood. I'll be able to work out a better serum for him." Dr. Banner assured him.

"Thanks, Dr. Banner. I just hope we can figure this out before Frost actually starts moving forward with his plan."

"What's his plan?" Dr. Jenson asked.

"Not sure on everything but what I know so far isn't good." Will told her.

"Well, maybe this could tip the odds in your favor." Dr. Jenson led him over to a table with a large bottle of blue liquid. "This is E.D.T.A, it's an anti-coagulant we use to treat blood clots. Watch it does when I introduce it to a sample of vampire blood."

She placed a tiny sample on a small sample of vampire blood that was under a digital microscope. Once the anti-coagulant was introduced, the blood cells had a negative reaction and the result was an explosion that destroyed the blood sample and microscope. "Jesus."

"Think of it as another arsenal to add to your war chest." She said, handing him a large bottle of it.

"Thanks." Will replied.

Line Break xxxxx

Blade was walking through Chinatown during the day to get some serum from an associate when his nose picked up a peculiar scent and heard his name being called. That turned out to be Frost standing in a park across the street with a young girl as a hostage. Blade made his way over to the park and finally met his adversary in the flesh. Frost removed his glasses and put them in his jacket like nothing was wrong.

"How you doing, chief?" Frost asked as Blade reached for his gun only to stop when he placed his hand on the girls' neck and elongated his nails. "Easy. We wouldn't want our little friend here to wind up on the back of a milk carton, now would we?"

Blade saw the girl was terrified and there wasn't anything he could do now without her getting hurt, so he put his hand down.

"Ah, it's nice to finally meet you, man. I've had my eye on you for years. I know all about you—your serum, Whistler, everything." Frost said when Blade noticed his slightly paler skin and realized how he was standing outside in the day.

"Sunblock."

"Hey, it's a start, right? The goal, of course, is to be like you, the Daywalker. You got the best of both worlds, don't you? All our strengths…none of our weaknesses." Frost said.

"Well, maybe I don't see it that way."

"Oh, so it's back to pretending we're human again? Come on, spare me the Uncle Tom routine, ok? You can't keep denying what you are, man. Heh, you think the humans will accept a half-bred like you? They can't. They're afraid of you. And they should be. You're an animal. You're a fucking maniac." Frost said as some humans walked by, completely unaware of what was going on. "Look at them. They're cattle. Just pieces of meat. What difference does it make how their world ends? Plague…war…famine…what does it matter. Morality doesn't even entire into it. We're just a function of natural selection, man, the new race. While they have their heads in the clouds looking for the next invasion, they have no idea we're right here waiting for them…to take them off the chessboard once and for all."

Blade was undeterred by his little speech. "Looks like your mascara's running.

Frost touched the side of his face and saw his sunblock was starting to sweat off. He couldn't risk being out in the open for much longer. "I'm offering you a truce. I want you with us. Your little SHIELD agent is going to be taken care of and by the time the rest of them try to retaliate it'll be too late."

"What? Do you think I'm stupid?" Blade asked. "T _he spirits of the twelve—will awaken La Magra."_

"You're familiar with the Blood God."

"Frost…you're nothing to me but another dead vampire." Blade told him.

"You're an idiot, you know that? I came down here offering you an easy way out, and you spit it right back in my fucking face." Frost said as Blade reached for his gun, so he yanked the girl into the air by the neck. "Careful.

"What do I care? They're nothing but cattle, just like you said." Blade told him.

"If you wanna take the hard road, be my guest pal. But I promise you by the time this is over, you're gonna wish they never cut you from our mother's—" Blade quickly pulled out his MAC-10 and fired three bullets that Frost side stepped. The vampire tossed the human girl past Blade and into the street where she crashed into a hotdog cart. Frost turned tail and ran with Blade firing at him but couldn't land a hit. The girl was about to be run over by a bus, but Blade swooped in and carried her out of the way just in time.

The girl was terrified but there was a smidge of thanks in her eyes. "Go home." He told her and she ran as fast as she could away. Frost must either be cocky as hell or scared as hell to meet with Blade and discuss a truce. And if he was going after Will he needed to move quickly.

Will was still in Avengers tower, doing some adjustments to his weapons with some special attachments Jarvis managed to fabricate in the armory. Among them were the new and improved UV flash pellets which were twice as powerful as the previous ones and more silver bullets which were already placed in spare pistol magazines. He was currently screwing on silver/titanium broadhead tips to the arrow shafts before placing them in his quiver. His phone rang and saw it was a SHIELD operator, so he answered. "Agent Detmer."

 _"_ _Agent Detmer. Reports of suspicious activity related to your case were sighted at a warehouse near the Red Hook Channel. Exact coordinates will be sent to your vehicle and backup will meet you there."_ The operator told him.

"Roger that. I'm on my way." Will replied before packing his gear up to leave. He dropped in the lab to see Dr. Banner and Dr. Jenson hard at work. "I need to head out. I might have another lead so stay here for now and keep working. I'll come back when I'm done."

"Don't worry, Will. She'll be safe here. We're close to a cure, for sure." Dr. Banner told him before he left.

He took his duffel bag of gear, weapons, and his suit with him when he left the tower. He put it in the trunk and drove to the coordinates that were sent to the monitor in the car. It took a while with traffic, but he eventually arrived by the water near the Red Hook Channel where it was mostly warehouses and docks.

Once he arrived, he got suited up in his tactical SHIELD gear with his pistol holstered on his thigh. The reinforcements were in the form a six-man SHIELD team dressed in black tactical gear and wielding assault rifles. "Sir." One of the agents handed him an assault rifle which he happily took.

"All right, men. Keep your eyes and ears open. Shoot the chest or head and watch your back in there." Will told them as they moved over to the warehouse. They stacked up at the door in standard tactical formation as the breacher placed a breaching charge on the door handle. The charge beep accelerated before it blew off the handle and lock then Will kicked the door in and moved in first with his rifle ready. The rest of the team followed behind and were greeted to the sight of a warehouse with large cases and shelves of boxes…like an actual warehouse still in use.

The SHIELD team aimed their guns at Will's back and were about to pull the trigger only for several pellets to hit the ground and erupt in a flash of light and loud ringing. The agents closed their eyes and turned their heads. One managed to open fire and emptied his entire magazine but hit nothing but the air. The empty gun was knocked into the air and the agent was taken out by a strike to the throat and an elbow to the collar bone. The second and third agent were quickly disarmed and taken out with swift strikes to the groin, legs, and face while the fourth and fifth agent were shot in the leg and a knife knocked the gun out of the hands of the sixth agent. The light finally dimmed, and Will was standing over the bodies of the five agents. The sixth one quickly reached for his pistol only for a fist to quickly hit him in the face and knock him out. That fist belonged to Blade.

"You missed one, kid."

"I knew you were there." Will assured him, before knocking out one of the guards with a kick to the face before moving their guns out of their reach. "How did you know where to find me? Better yet, how did you know about this?"

"Picked up your scent in the city. And Frost said he had people to take care of you." Blade knelt to one of the unconscious agents and pulled his shirt back to reveal a vampire familiar mark on the back of his neck…Frost's mark. "Frost want's you out of the picture."

Will checked the necks of the other agents and they all had the same mark which he promptly took a photo of. "Frost has men in SHIELD. Perfect." He said sarcastically before stomping on the neck of the agent still conscious and pointing his pistol at his head. "Move and you get a bullet in each eye."

"Easy, don't kill me." The agent begged, struggling to breathe with the boot on his neck.

"I won't but I can't say the same about my friend here. He's made killing vampires and familiars an art form and trust me when I say that he's a lot less forgiving then I am." Will said before looking at Blade. "Think you can find out where Frost is?"

"Give me a few seconds with him." Blade replied as Will stepped away to make a call. That call was an encrypted one to Hill.

 _"_ _This is Deputy Director Hill._

"Go secure." He told her and waited a few seconds while she took care of that.

 _"_ _Secured. Agent Detmer, what's going on?"_

"We have a new problem. I was nearly ambushed by six SHIELD agents working for the vampire I've been tracking down. Deacon Frost. They all have familiar marks on them. I'm sending you the photo now." He quickly sent it via encrypted line. "Frost is on to us. You and Fury need to do a serious check on all the communications that have gone in and out within the last 48 hours. I doubt Frost or other vampires have just six familiars."

 _"_ _Right, we'll get to work on it. Do you need additional backup? I can get Barton and Romanoff in the city within a few hours."_ She said when a scream filled the warehouse, probably from the interrogation Blade was conducted.

"No, I'll be fine. It's best I handle this on my own. Besides, I have backup already. Just send a recovery team to my location to pick up the traitors." Will said before hanging up. He walked back over to Blade and saw the agent had passed out. "Anything?"

"He didn't know much. Frost gave the order. He's moving up his time table."

"About La Magra. What the hell is he planning?" Will asked.

"Whatever it is it's not good." Blade said as Will took out some zip cuffs and tied up the agents. "Let's go."

Blade and Will drove back to his hideout as quickly as they could but once they arrived, they could tell something was wrong. Will and Blade unholstered their guns as they moved forward. "Whistler!" Blade shouted when they came across a dead body sprawl against a tipped shelf. Will checked his neck and found a familiar mark. They kept moving inward and saw another body and a bloody sheet on the medical chair with a DVD next to it with the words _play me_.

Will felt his gut sink as Blade walked forward and removed the sheet to reveal Whistler's bloody and beaten body. Will came over and looked at the wounds which were severe. Besides the cuts and bruises, he sensed broken bones, a collapsed lung and a lot of internal bleed. That combined with the two fang marks on his neck weren't good. Blade removed his glasses as he walked closer to his mentor and father figure.

"Frost was here. Listen to me…the data…Frost is trying to trigger a fucking vampire apocalypse…" Whistler manage to utter out despite his collapsed lung and holes in his neck. "There's some kind of vampire god he's trying to resurrect."

Blade was stoic as can be but you could tell in his eyes that seeing Whistler like this hurt more than any injury ever. He tried to wipe up some of the blood but it wouldn't do any good. "La Magra."

"You're the key. He needs your blood…the blood of the Daywalker. You're the chosen one. Listen to me Blade, you can't go after him."

"Bullshit." Blade told him.

"If Frost gets his hands on you it's all over. There'll be armies of those motherfuckers. Not even those assholes in capes can stop them." Whistler groaned in pain but managed to tough it out as best as he could. "You're gonna have to finish me off. Don't want me coming back."

"Let's get him out of here. I know someone who can help." Will told Blade.

"It's too far gone, kid. Thanks for trying kid but Blade knows better." Whistler took a pained breath before looking at Blade. "Give me your gun."

"No."

"Give me your gun, god dammit."

Blade unholstered his gun and seemed to freeze, not wanting to kill Whistler or let this happen but he knew it needed to be done so he put it in the old man's hand. "Now walk away, both of you. Walk the fuck away."

Blade took off first and Will followed but not before grabbing the DVD. They kept moving until they heard a gunshot. Blade stopped momentarily before he kept moving. They went to Blade's room and played the DVD to see Frost's message.

 _"_ _Hello, Blade. Bet you're starting to wish you took me up on my offer, aren't you? By the time you watch this that old man Whistler will be dead. If it makes any difference to you, he put up quite a fight. You can find me at the Edgewood Towers. So, better hurry up."_ The message ended after that.

"You know it's a trap, right?" Will asked.

"I know…but I don't really care." Blade replied.

"Fair enough. But I'm not letting you go in alone. I'll get ready." Will left to get suited up. Blade quickly made as many silver bullets as fast as he could, loaded them into clips for his pistol and put in fresh stakes in his shotgun. He put on his armor, jacket and glasses before eventually stepping out of his room to see Will waiting for him by his car.

Will had gotten changed into his Aegis gear but his hood was down and his mask wasn't deployed. His pistol was strapped to his thigh and his quiver filled with silver and explosive arrows was hooked onto his back with his bow in his hand and two bandoliers of blue serum vials.

"Last chance to walk away, kid." Blade told him.

"Not gonna happen. You don't let a friend walk into a trap alone." Will pat him on the shoulder before handing him one of the vial bandoliers.

"What's this?" Blade asked, looking it over.

"Gift from Dr. Jenson. The liquid is an anti-coagulant. We tested it against vampire blood and it pretty much turned them into walking blood bombs. It could tip the odds in your favor if you need it." Will explained.

"Thanks." Blade said before wrapped it around his left arm.

"Don't mention it. Let's go." Will said as he got in his car while Blade drove on a motorcycle. It was now up to the two of them to stop an ancient Blood God from being awakened.

Line Break xxxxx

At the Edgewood Towers, Will and Blade arrived just as it started to get dark. Will took the lead heading in because both were armed with weapons which would have immediately gotten them arrested had he not flashed his SHIELD Badge. One of the Familiars who was stationed as a guard on the ground floor saw them and ran away only for Will to fire a grapple arrow at his legs and trip him up. Blade walked over and slammed him against the wall. "Where's Frost?"

"Top three floors. He owns all of it. You take the private elevator." The guard said as Blade knocked him out with a punch to the face before taking his keycard. They walked over to the private elevator and swiped in using the keycard before heading up.

Will took three arrows with heavy metallic tips from his quiver and placed them on the drawstring as the two patiently waited in the elevator. All that could be heard was the shitting elevator music and ding of passing floors. After going through floors 2-75 they eventually stopped at floor 76. Will's telekinetic sense picked up over twenty people waiting for them with guns. He pulled the arrows back and the second the elevator doors split open he released them.

All the guards saw when the elevator doors opened were three arrows that quickly erupted in small explosions that killed several of them and destroyed all the glass paneling in the room. Blade then stepped in and fired his MAC-10, killing several of the familiar guards while Will fired his pistol. Both of them took out over a dozen guards who weren't even able to fire back. Blade holstered his MAC-10 and unslung his shotgun before unleashing hell on the remaining guards with shotgun slugs. Will tossed an explosive pellet down the hallway before reloading his pistol and killing the last two guards.

One of the guards was still alive despite three bullets to the chest. Blade walked over with his shotgun and the guard begged for his live. "Please! Please, don't do this! I just work for them!"

His begging did nothing as Blade lowered his shotgun down and blasted a hole in his chest, ending him. With the initial guards dealt with, they made their way into Frost's sanctum. Blade ditched his trench coat and took point as the two turned a hallway and saw two vampire guards armed with taser sticks. They charged forward as Blade pushed one away so Will dealt with him. He blocked the taser and various strikes before punching him across the face and throwing up into the wall. Blade spin kicked his vampire in the face before parrying attacks and stabbed the E.D.T.A syringe in her eye. Will dodged all the taser swings before locking his arm and breaking it. He topped it off with an E.D.T.A syringe to the chest. Blade and Will resumed their trek as the two vampires screamed in pain and horror, their bodies expanding like balloons until they eventually burst like going water balloons filled with blood.

Will and Blade split up and took different paths throughout the floor. Will went left while Blade went right. He eventually made his way through the floor and came to a large living area with an indoor pool/lounge area. "Leave it to Frost to show that real Vampires can be just as bad as that Twilight vampire." He said to himself when he noticed the reinforced window shades were locked shut.

A vampire stealthy made their way behind him and was ready to latch onto his neck only for Will to turn and stab him in the heart with his silver knife. He slit his throat for good measure and the vampire turned to ash. Will's hearing picked up fighting, so he quickly rushed in that direction. He saw Frost and whole bunch of familiars in a white room and they were tasing Blade all over. Will pulled out an arrow and placed it on his bow, taking aim and ready to fire when Blade looked right at him and shook his head no.

Will quickly took a mini-tracker and tossed it at the jacket of one of the guards before making his exit while Frost took Blade away. He grits his teeth as he watched them take him, but Blade told him not to fight. Maybe this was part of a plan? Whistler did say they needed Blade's blood so perhaps letting them take him would lead him to the others. With that tracker he'd be able to follow so that's what he'd do but first he went back to Avenger's tower to get something.

Blade was taken to the outskirts of Jackson Heights where Frost's familiars had been hard at work for months in an excavation dig. He was dragged underground where flood lights revealed an ancient temple like the one in Frost's data on La Magra. Frost was there along with his entire army of minions, the remaining vampire elders and Blade's mother who was Frost's prize possession and a turned vampire working for him. It was her appearance that allowed Frost to get the jump on him.

Blade was dragged before Frost with his arms bound and by the flop sweat and weakness he was exhibiting, he needed his serum or blood and soon. "Blade, so glad you could be here to see this. I would have liked for your little buddy to be here, but we'll find him when we're done." Frost said as Quinn smirked at Blade while wearing his sunglasses.

"Our ancestors called his place the Temple of Eternal Night. Nice, isn't it? Apparently, these geniuses forgot it ever existed. Fortunately for us, I'm what you might call a student of history." Frost walked up to the elders and smirked. They would be taken out soon enough and he would enjoy it. "Why are we here? This temple was built for one glorious moment—this night, for the Blood God."

Quinn then punched Blade in the face out of anger and probably idiocy ruining Frost's moment. "Let's see this sword of yours." Frost said as his girlfriend tossed it to him. "Well. Titanium, right? Acid-edged? Whew. I'll get used to a weapon like this." Frost then flicked the switch by the hilt off which drew a momentarily surprised look from Blade. "What? You look surprised. I told you, Blade. I know everything about you. You don't look so good, do you?"

Quinn then handed him the bandolier of E.D.T.A vials. "What do we have here? Your precious serum. Mm, how long has it been since you shot up? Twelve, thirteen hours, maybe? I bet you're just dying for a drink, aren't you? What's it feel like? Is your blood on fire?"

"Try some. You might like it."

"Thanks, but I prefer the real thing. In any event, I don't think you'll be needing these anymore." Frost threw them down to the lower level of the temple and they shattered. "It's a shame, you know? When I think of what you've become, what you should have become. I guess I don't blame you. I mean, with everything that's happened, it's the human side of you that's made you weak. You should have listened to your blood."

"Say what you want, but I promise you you'll be dead by dawn." Blade swore.

"Get him out of here." Frost ordered as they took him to a special chamber while the elders were taken down below.

Line Break xxxxx

Back above ground, several familiars were standing guard as they were ordered to. Mostly to keep anyone and the police away. One of the guards was texting away on his phone when an arrow pierced through his heart and came out the back. He managed to utter out a few guttural sounds before falling to the ground dead. One of the guards noticed they were one short only to get an arrow through the neck. The four remaining familiars were alerted before they even call for help or even move, they all got an arrow in the heart. They dropped to the ground one by one as Will walked past their bodies. He pressed a button on his bow handle, which made the limbs and bow string retract into the handle for easy carrying. He put his collapsed bow in his pocket before jumping down the excavation hole into the temple.

He pulled out his knife and quietly made his way through the halls. He hugged a corner as a vampire walked over. Once he was close enough, he yanked the vampire out of sight and stabbed him in the back of the head. The knife hit right in the brain and the vampire burned away into ash. He closed his eyes and used his telekinetic sense to find Blade and found him in some kind of chamber about 50 yards away. He quietly made his way through while Frost and his minions kept doing what they were doing which was draining Blade's blood and moving each of the 12 elders underneath a tome and standing on a vampire glyph. One of the elders bad talked Frost's girlfriend so she killed him with Blade's sword and kick it and his burning body into the wall. They were now short one which would come to bite Frost in the ass with all of this. They needed 12 not 11.

Most the familiars and guards had made their way to ground floor where Frost and the elders were, so it made sneaking around a little easier. Will eventually came upon the chamber Blade was in and saw him in some kind large stone sarcophagus with vampire glyphs on them. He quickly turned it counter-clock wise, so the front opened up and saw Blade strung up and his wrists were bleeding profusely.

"Shit, Blade what did they do to you." He quickly undid the straps and Blade's body slumped to the ground.

"What took you…so long…kid?" Blade managed to gutter out.

"I stopped to get you something." Will took a high-powered vial injector and placed a slightly yellow colored liquid vial in it. "It's a new serum. It's twice as effective but not completely tested."

"Do it…" Blade uttered out so Will stabbed the injector into his heart. The Daywalker gasped in pain as the serum was injected into his body right into the heart so it could pump its way through his body quicker. Will took a few steps back when he was done and watched Blade writhe in pain. "ARGHH!"

Fortunately for them, Blade's screams of agony were drowned out by the La Magra ritual as a bolt of lighting struck sarcophagus that held Blade's body and it lit up like a Christmas tree. It lit up the other tomes and glyphs in a cascading effect down to the ground floor until bolts of lighting struck each of the 11 vampire elders.

Blade writhed and groaned in pain before he got on all floors and took a few deep breaths, having come down from the violent reaction of the serum. "Blade…" Will slowly walked forward only for his danger sense to go off. He turned and a woman punched him in the face. The impact sent him crashing into the sarcophagus and spinning through the air until he slammed into a wall and hit the ground with a thud.

Blade glanced up at his mother and glared at her. "You disappoint me." She said, baring her fangs and charging at him. She scratched and lunged but Blade easily avoided all of her attacks. He grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the wall. "Eric…I'm your mother. You wouldn't hurt your mother, would you? Come here."

She pulled him close like a mother would her son but unbeknownst to her it would be the last move she ever made. "I must release you." Will quickly tossed his silver dagger at Blade who caught it and stabbed her in the gut. Her screams of pain echoed out into the ritual chamber where the bolts of lightning ripped out the vampiric souls of the elders. The large bat-like souls sprawled out of their vessels which withered away into dust before flying around the chamber like actual bats. Frost's minions and familiars were beyond freaked out at what was happening while Frost himself couldn't be happier. Eventually all the elders were piles of dust and their vampire souls flew around the room and began to fly through Frost's body before they all piled in. His eyes turned red and he was flung across the room.

Blade's mother's body withered away into ash and with it was the small smidge of sorrow for the person she used to be. Now he was focused on Frost, so he grabbed his jacket and ran through the chamber, flipping through the air and landing on the ground floor in a crouch.

"FROST!" Blade shouted in anger and glared at his enemy with soul-searing hatred.

"Kill him!" the possessed Frost ordered.

"Wait! I owe you man. I got two new hands, Blade. I don't know which one to use to kill you with!" Quinn charged only for Blade to pull out silver garrote wire and slice his head off. Quinn turned to ash and Blade caught his glasses before putting them on and the fight began.

A familiar lunged at him only to get kicked into a wall. He ducked and leg swept another guy before stomping on his gut. "FROST!" Blade was grabbed from behind only to throw out an elbow to the familiar and quickly take out another with a kick to the gut.

Will raced out to the ledge and saw Blade taking down the guards with ease. He would be fine. That's when his danger sense kicked off and quickly spun and hugged a wall to avoid a hail of gunfire from a guard across the room. He took out his bow handle and pressed a button, causing it to un-collapse. A deep breath to concentrate and he stepped out of cover and fired an arrow, nailing the guard in the heart with one shot. Two more came into view and shot at him so he quickly took them out with two rapid fire arrows to the head. He saw Frost's girlfriend come into view, so he fired an arrow only for her to dodge it. She rushed towards him down the curved hallway as he fired arrow after arrow and only barely missing. She charged straight at him and caught an arrow aimed at her head only to throw it back. He moved his head out of the way which allowed her to close the distance and knock his bow to the ground floor and kick him in to the wall.

"I'm really going to enjoy this now. RAH!" She bared her fangs and tried to bite him only for Will to pull out his gun right into her mouth.

"Don't think so." He pulled the trigger and blasted her head off with her body withering away into ash. "Not really that bright, were you?"

Blade took down the last two vampires with powerful strikes and kicks to the face and chest before pulling his sword out of the wall with a spin and their bodies withered away into ash. "Hey, Blade!" Frost shouted, brandishing his own katana. "Let's dance."

Blade charged forward and flipped onto the platform Frost was on. He cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders before the two engaged in a sword fight. Blade had the skill, but Frost's speed made it so he kept up. Frost did his best but had no skill. Blade picked up the speed of his strikes before managing to slash Frost's right arm off at the elbow and then slice him in half at the waist. Normally that would be the end of it, but Frost's blood pooled out like it had a mind of its own and connect his two halves back together. Not only that but it sealed the wound like nothing happened. Blade looked at Frost and mouthed _what the fuck_. Never had he seen anything like that.

Frost just smirked as he held up his blood stump of an arm. "You're too late Blade…" His blood came to life and formed a new hand for him. Blade's response was a side flip kick to the head and multiple quick slashes with his sword that would have diced him into pieces but that wasn't the case. Frost's speed shot up dramatically and was able to outpace him at every attack, so he hit nothing. "My turn."

Frost blurred out before reappearing in front of Blade in a burst of super speed and punched him into a pillar. The vampire hunter hit the ground with a thud as Frost flipped through the air and landed next to him. He reared his fist back and was ready to drive it through Blade's body when bullets hit him all over the back. Frost turned to see Will shooting his gun at his chest with a final bullet at his forehead, but it did nothing. Frost's blood pushed out the bullets and they fell to the ground with a clink and clack. Blade took this chance and thrust his sword through Frost's back. It came out the front but even with a titanium silver sword straight through his chest Frost was fine. Frost elbowed Blade in the face and sent him flying back before pulling the sword out and throwing it at Will who managed to dodge it just in time.

Frost super sped forward and grabbed Will by the neck before hoisting him up and squeezing. He struggled to breath, so he grabbed a UV flash pellet and shoved it into Frost's mouth. It blew up in a flash of light that burned his face and causing Frost to throw him through the air and into Blade.

"Ugh, shit." Will groaned in pain while rubbing his throat to try and alleviate the pain. Blade saw the E.D.T.A bandolier on Will's belt and took it. Frost's grunts and groans of pain died out as his body healed astronomically fast even from the intense UV burns and it was back to normal.

"Nothing can help you two now. I'm a god and gods can't be killed." Frost said before charging. Blade quickly threw one of the syringes and hit Frost in the chest. The liquid went into his body, but it seemed to do nothing as he flicked it off and leapt forward ready for the kill. Blade threw five more vials and each one hit Frost's body and while it did nothing before now it seemed to make him scream in pain.

"Some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate up hill." Blade said before throwing up the last vial and spin kicking it right into Frost's forehead. The anti-coagulant seemed to be doing its job as Frost's body morphed into a grotesque, bloody lump before exploding into a chunky and bloody mess. Will took some thermal explosive pellets and tossed them onto the bloody bits, so they burned.

"He's not getting up from that." Will said, picking his bow up from the ground. "Is it over?"

"It is." Blade told him.

"Good." Will took out some explosive charges from his belt and placed them on some structural pillars. "Let's get out of here."

Blade grabbed his sword and anything else of his before they went back topside. Will placed his last explosive charge by the entrance before they climbed up the ladder and made it out of the ground. He activated the charges which destroyed the ritual chamber and collapsed the entrance, sending a small puff of dust and smoke from the hole they climbed out of. The sun had just risen over the horizon and ushered in a new day. They prevented the Vampire apocalypse as Whistler put it.

Will's phone went off with a text from Dr. Jenson that the cure they were developing worked on her. They had a cure for vampirism and a potential one for Blade. "Some more good news. Dr. Jenson just let me know she and a friend of mine finished a vampire cure. They have one for you as well if you want it."

Blade looked at the sun before looking back at him. "No. Keep it for now and help whoever you can. There's still a war going on and I have a job to do. All I need is a better serum."

"I can help you with that." Will took out a piece of paper and quickly wrote his number down. "Here. I'll let you know where to pick it up. And if you ever need help then let me know."

"Thanks kid." Blade shook his hand and the two parted ways.

Will took care of some last-minute things, which just entailed eliminating all trace of anyone having been here which meant dealing with the bodies and vehicles. After that, he got in his car and used his phone to call Hill.

 _"_ _This is Hill."_ She answered.

"Go secure." He said, securing his own communication line while she did the same.

 _"_ _We're secured. What's the situation?"_ Hill asked.

"Let Fury know that the vampire threat has been dealt with. Deacon Frost is dead with along with the major vampire players in the city. All sites have been secured but there are likely to be thousands of stragglers still in the city. Where are we on the familiars in SHIELD?" Will asked.

 _"_ _We're still tracking them down but most of them have been apprehended. I imagine it'll be easier to take them down with their leaders dealt with."_ Hill said.

"Or they'll go underground. Log me in for overtime. I'm heading into the city to transport Dr. Karen Jenson to the Manhattan Base. She's developed a vampire cure which we'll need." He told her. "After that, I'm heading back out into the city to track down more of them."

 _"_ _Roger that. We'll be waiting for you when you arrive. What about Blade?"_ Hill asked.

"He's alive…and he'll continue doing what he does best. Something tells me we'll be running into him again. Detmer out." Will hung up and drove back to Manhattan.

Hill ended the call and turned to reveal she was in Director Fury's office. "Another disaster situation avoided, sir. Agent Detmer did what would have taken several teams to accomplish with ease. You were right about him."

"We've tipped the tide in our favor, but something tells me they'll be back." Fury told her.

"Then it's a good thing we have a cure too if Will's word is to be taken." Hill replied when she saw Fury take out an old phonebook size file with a SHIELD Logo on it but another symbol as well. This one was a fist holding a sword. "Project BPRD?"

"I'm reactivating it. Inform Dr. Bruttenholm that they're to resume covert work again and make sure its covert. I don't want to deal with seeing news footage of their actions. The Avengers are one thing, but this is another." Fury told her but Hill could tell there was something else concerning him.

"What's wrong, sir?" Hill asked as Fury opened a drawer in his desk and took out an old business card. It was worn and tattered meaning it had been there a while. "Are you worried we won't be able to contain them?"

"It's not that. Detmer's our deterrent. I'm more worried that we just rang the dinner bell and now we have no idea what else is waiting for us. If what Detmer said is true and that Loki was working for someone else, the Battle of New York is just the beginning and soon more threats will rise. The World Security Council already set up Project Insight. Contact the Triskelion and make sure they're on track." Fury said and she nodded. "How's Coulson's recovery?"

"Progressing as can be expected. The memory augmentation seems to have helped." She replied. "Sir, should we inform Agent Detmer about Project Tahiti. Given his knowledge on the G.H. should we loop him in?"

"It's need to know and above his clearance level." Fury told her. "Agent Detmer isn't ready to learn of this yet."

"How long do you think you'll be able to keep this from him?" Hill asked.

"As long as I can. Something tells me there'll be other distractions to take its place. Task our spare satellites to keep an eye on Genosha. Something tells me Magnus won't stay in exile for much longer." Fury said, getting up from his desk to leave. "There are a lot of threats out there and it's our job to keep them contained.

"Yes, sir." She replied.

The business card on his desk was worn and tattered but still legible. It read:

 _Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters_

 _Charles Xavier Professor_

 _1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center Westchester County, New York_

 **End of Chapter 7**

 **1). Wesley Snipes Blade**

 **Hoped you guys liked this chapter. Sorry it took so long but it accidently got erased and I had to start from scratch so that's why it took a while. I apologize but hope you guys liked it. Blade's been introduced and while I can't wait for what the MCU version of Blade will be, Wesley Snipe's version is my favorite movie growing up. The first R-rated, black led superhero movie. Black Panther fans and critics seem to forget this one for some reason. We'll be seeing him again soon. I hope you guys like the little Easter eggs I've set up for future chapters and plot points. They won't show up next chapter but in the future for sure.**

 **Next chapter, Will gets a call by his friend Grant to help clear the name of an old military friend who has been wrongfully accused of killing five innocent people. During his investigation he gets caught up in a much bigger conspiracy that he wasn't expecting. Plus we get to see him take part in what he does when he's not on a mission…that's tracking down potential leads on strange disappearances and killings and killing those responsible. In other words, he hunts down serial killers when he's not on the clock and this one takes him to Texas to deal with a crazy family and chainsaws. Why is it always chainsaws? Until next time.**

 **William Alexander Detmer/Birthname: William Alexander Danvers**

· **Moniker=** Aegis _(means something under protection from a benevolent source/Shield of Zeus and Athena)_

· **SHIELD Status:** Level 7 Agent / Special Operations, Tactics and Defense Specialist (SOTD) Serial number: NE616IN

o **Member of the Avengers**

· **Appearance:** Stephen Amell from Arrow, Season 1 build **.**

o **Aegis Combat gear:** Earth X's Dark Arrow Vibranium jacket and pants with retractable full-face mask colored Black and Blue. Eye covers in mask are colored blue as well. Improved design resists more damage and certain atmospheric pressures.

o Shoulder strap pellet holders. Combat gloves and forearm guards with weapons and equipment.

o **SHIELD gear:** Combat boots, black combat pants, with form fitting dark blue long sleeve athletic shirt. SHIELD Tactical combat vest.

o Shoulder strap pellet holders. Combat gloves and forearm guards with weapons and equipment.

o **Casual Outfit:** dark blue or black sneakers, jeans, blue or black t-shirt and either a zip-up hoodie, jacket, or button up over.

o **Weapons:**

§ **Signature Guns:**

· Modified Heckler & Koch P30L handgun with custom grip and compensator or suppressor attachment. Spare firearm Glock 17.

· Modified Knight's Armament SR-25 Sniper rifle with modified scope, bipod, and suppressor.

· Modified M249 Mk46 Light Machine gun with a modified barrel, magazine insertion well. Equipped with adjustable buttstock, 100-round magazine drum, deployable bipod, red dot sight, flashlight, and laser sight attachment.

· Modified TDI/KRISS Vector-.45 ACP with modified barrel, stock, grip, extended magazine, red-dot sight, flashlight, laser sight, and silencer attachment.

· Modified Remington 879 MSC Masterkey 12-gauge compact shotgun.

· Custom collapsible Oneida Kestrel Compound Bow and quiver of special arrows.

§ **Others:**

· Right forearm guard wrist mounted retractable Vibranium/alloy blades.

· Left forearm guard wrist mounted small retractable Vibranium Shield & touchpad computer.

· 10 dark blue flechettes/throwing arrows wrapped around his ankles.

· 2 Vibranium orbs that Will is able to manipulate.

· Natural Language Modified Artificial Intelligence program EDI.

· Predator Combi stick/spear

· 2 Predator Shuriken

· 4 Laser net devices

· Predator knife

· **Born:** September 8th, 1988-Currently 23

· **Notable talents:** Genius level intellect potential, self-defense military training from Harold Detmer, knowledge, and training in 15 types of martial arts, gun knowledge and expert marksman trained by Clint Barton, espionage and spy skills trained by Natasha Romanoff, SHIELD tactics and medical training from Coulson and SHIELD trainers, well-crafted knowledge and understanding of psychology, knowledge, and experience with engineering both mechanical and electrical, fluent in dozens of languages.

· **Personality:** Kind, caring, composed, attentive, intelligent, and driven. Can be a bit of a smartass.

o When insulted, angered, or in a serious situation, focused and relentless. Considered dangerous and unforgiving in these types of situations.

o Uses powers sparingly in the field unless absolutely needs to.

· **Pairing:** Will x Skye/Daisy Johnson x Crystal

 **Powers: (If in bold, capable of doing now)**

· **Rakyat Tatau:** _Mystical tattoo that enhances speed, strength, stamina, intelligence, instincts, healing speed ad metabolic function to absolute human peak potential. (Captain America Level Super Soldier)_

· **Telekinesis, the ability to impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other non-physical means**

· **Power Level=** Advanced: level 4 out of 5

o **Binding-** _to keep an object/being from moving_

o **Levitation-** _to lift an object_

o **Orbital Field-** _to makes objects and energy orbit around user_

o **Telekinetic Shield** - _to create a shield of telekinetic energy around user or others/strength of shield depends on mental strength and focus of user_

o **Psionic Speed-** _to augment user's physical speed_

o **Psionic Strength-** _to augment user's physical strength_

o **Telekinetic Bullet Projection** - _projecting telekinetic energy as bullets_

o **Telekinetic Choking** - _to strangle someone with telekinesis_

o **Telekinetic Grip-** _To grasp an object firmly in place_

o **Telekinetic Maneuver-** _to alter an object's directional course_

o **Telekinetic Pull & Push-** _to pull or push objects away from user_

o **Molecular Manipulation** - _to manipulate matter at molecular level. Can accelerate, slow down and adjust spacing of molecules._

§ **_Limited in use._** _ie. manipulating Vibranium orbs and reshaping them_

o **Telekinetic Aura/Sense** - _To sense one's surroundings with telekinesis_

o **Telekinetic Compression-** _to crush or compact an object_

o **Telekinetic Blast-** _to emit telekinetic energy as a blast of blue energy_

o **Telekinetic Destruction** - _to make an object explode into dust_

o **Telekinetic Flight** - _using telekinesis to fly_

o **Psionic Explosion** - _to create/discharge psychic energy across a wide range_

· **Telepathy, mentally receive or transmit information**

· **Power Level=** Advanced: level 4 out of 5

o **Mind Reading** - _ability to read the thoughts of others_

o **Memory Reading** _-the ability to read the target's memories_

o **Psychic Communication** - _the ability to secretly converse with others_

o **Telepathic Speaking** - _to speak aloud using the mind_

o **Telepathic Projection-** _to project images or memories into the physical plane_

o **Download** _-the ability to process/download information of another person (If used in a violent or angry mood, can harm the victim)_

o **Knowledge Replication** - _the ability to replicate learned knowledge and skills_

o **Knowledge Projection** - _the ability to project knowledge to another_

o **Rapid brain activity** - _the ability to process and understand information at incredible rates_

o **Mental Inducement** - _The ability to put the targets mind into the wanted state_

o **Mental Hallucination** - _the ability to cause mental hallucinations_

o **Mind Link** - _the ability to develop a permanent mental bond with any person_

o **Mind Walking/Melding** - _to enter another's consciousness_

o **Precognition awareness-** _six sense awareness of imminent danger_

o **Telepathic Prediction** - _the ability to know a person's moves by reading their brain waves_

o **Astral Projection** - _to separate one's mind from their body and explore physical plane_

§ _Cannot use telekinesis in this state. If separated from body too long, very dangerous._

o **Telepathic Surgery** - _the ability to perform neuropsychic surgery, healing and/or damaging the mind_

o **Memory/Mental Manipulation** - _the ability to manipulate a target's memories and mind_

o **Clairvoyance** - _the ability to gain direct visual information through non-physical means_

§ _Triggered only by serious events_

o **Foresight** - _the ability to foresee possible future events and observe what may happen_

§ _Needs certain triggers to activate_

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Agents of SHIELD or any Marvel Properties, they belong to their respective owners, I'm just a fan.**


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